Under the Sky so Blue: Aftermath
by ImaginAries
Summary: Warning, SPOILERS! After the long awaited battle between Vash and Knives, what happens? Vash struggles to change his brother, the New GHGuns are formed, and Knives has his own personal struggles- Completed! RR!
1. Part One

**~Under the Sky so Blue: Aftermath~**

****

**Part One**

****

            The sun beat down relentlessly upon the sandy dunes, yet in spite of it all the blond man in the red coat was smiling.  He smiled even though he carried the man who had caused him so much pain and torment; he smiled even though his heart and body still ached.  

            Vash the Stampede treaded the sand easily, his circle framed reflector sunglasses protecting his eyes from the bright sunrays, his gaze steadily focused ahead.  The man slung so casually over his shoulder was none other but his twin brother- a man who cared nothing for any human being, a man who cared nothing for constant ranting of love and peace. His name was Millions Knives, but to anyone who really knew him, just plain Knives would do.  

            The intent Vash had was first simply to kill, to make Knives feel the same pain he had caused his brother to bear.  However, in that moment when the trigger could have been pulled should have been pulled, Vash wasn't so inclined to take yet another life.  He had taken too many already, even if it wasn't intentional, even if it wasn't with his own hands.  Though Knives probably most likely deserved death for his ruthlessness, Rem's last request rang clear in Vash's mind.

            _'Vash, take care of Knives.'___

            Now, as they neared the city, Vash had decided it was just what he would do.  It had to be done- Knives had to be changed, he _could be changed.  Maybe with the help of the two ever-present insurance girls, Vash could manage to pull it off.  Maybe soon Knives would accept that there was no superior race._

            A loud eruption ahead caused Vash to jump with a start, realizing he had been walking down the middle of the main road of the town.  The smile broadened when he saw water spouting into the air from a well that the townspeople had so diligently been working on.  The cool drops rained down on he and his brother's unconscious form, washing away some of the blood from battle. Vash's heavy boot-clad feet stopped not too far from the crowd, watching them celebrate. 

            Only one pair of eyes had noticed the bright red trench coat- big, blue eyes, gleaming with rarely seen excitement and happiness.  Meryl Stryfe of the Bernard-Daly Insurance Society strode to the blond spiky haired man, tugging on her temporary waitress uniform.  For a few moments she simply stood there, exchanging a very long stare with him. 

            "Oh, hey Mr. Vash the Stampede! When did you get back?"

            Meryl's insurance counterpart, Milly Thompson, chirped cheerily as she came up beside the shorter woman with a hand on her yellow hardhat. 

            "Just now, it seems, but Milly please don't call him that when there's so many people around." Meryl quickly reprimanded her partner, hoping that no one had heard any of it over their cheers of joy. Luckily, none had. 

            "Huh? Okay, Meryl, whatever you say!" Milly replied and beamed at Vash. "Mr. Vash, who is that over your shoulder?"

            Vash had taken off his sunglasses, having tucked them away somewhere unseen to the girls, and returned a friendly grin. 

            "Oh, hey girls, I see you finished with the well, that's great!  This is Knives, by the way; he's hurt so I thought I'd bring him here so he can rest."

            While Milly was seemingly unfazed by this news, Meryl nearly had a heart attack.  Her face turned slightly purple.

            "What?! Are you insane? You can't bring him here!"

            Vash was a little perplexed at Meryl's sudden change in skin color but answered her question.  "Maybe so, but he really needs to be lying down right now- all the blood is probably rushing to his head, he's been upside down like this for so long. So can we just go inside now and talk about this later?"

            The petite raven haired insurance lady nearly blew her top, but agitatedly agreed and led the way toward the motel.  Milly followed them; taking her hardhat off and hugged it to her self as they all entered the double bedded room.  Vash walked past the girls and carefully put Knives down onto the simple box-spring, pulling a white sheet over his form up to his chin. Meryl was actually surprised to see how gentle he was being, despite the fact that Knives was a bloodthirsty murderer. 

            Vash's twin was still unconscious and unmoving, but soft grunts and groans escaped his lips as he slept.  Meryl could see the similarities in the brothers' features, but they weren't identical twins. Besides that and their hairstyle, Knives' face was cold and hardened, even in slumber, while Vash's was softer and more prone to actually showing emotion. 

            "Well okay, I'll see you two later, but right now I'd like to be alone with him if that's alright." 

            Putting a hand on one of each girls' shoulders, Vash ushered them out of the room, stopping at the doorway. 

            "But you're injured too; those wounds have to be dressed!" Meryl protested as Milly simply looked on.

            The red coat clad man didn't lose his smile but kept his stubbornness. 

            "Oh don't worry about me, just a few scratches, I feel perfectly fine really."

            However, fatigue and stress must have set in, because no sooner than he had finished that sentence, Vash collapsed onto the floor. 

            "Oh gee, Mr. Vash are you alright?" Milly leaned over him then looked back to Meryl. "He's out cold, Meryl!"

            "That idiot, I told him so," Meryl mused as she moved to the opposite side of Vash's form. 

            As Milly helped her move him to the second bed, she nodded, "Yep, you sure did Meryl.  But you know what, I'm really glad he's back."

            Managing to hide a small smile, Meryl agreed. "So am I."

                                                                                                            ~End of Part One~


	2. Part Two

**~Under the Sky so Blue: Aftermath~**

****

**Part Two**

****

            Slumber was dreamless for the first time in a long time for Vash.  Rem didn't come to haunt his mind speaking of justice, hope, and life for people.  He couldn't quite figure out how long he had been asleep, but it was much too long in any case.  How dare he sleep when Knives was still at large? 

            Then it hit him- Knives was in the same room that he was in! Bolting straight up in bed, Vash half tossed off the covers and turned to see that his brother had hardly moved from the position he'd been laid down in.  Knives no longer grunted and groaned with pain, sleeping as peacefully as a man with his conscience could.  

            Turning his aqua eyes down, Vash noticed he'd been bandaged up as well- though not to the extent of his brother, as he'd been bandaged many times before.  There was no doubt as to who did it for him; Meryl Stryfe was always in one way or another taking care of him, even if she couldn't stand him.  It made him chuckle softly to himself before realizing the door was slightly open. 

            "You can come in, I'm awake now." Vash called without any humor to his voice. 

            The door remained still for only a moment and then Meryl's petite form stepped inside and over the threshold, a bowl of soup in her hands. She stopped a foot away from the bed Vash inhabited and let on a very faint smile.  

            "I made some of my soup for you for when you woke up. I guess I have good timing."

            Vash gazed at her, unabashed.  He knew she'd been watching him and more likely watching Knives to make sure he didn't run amok in the town of Demetri.  

            "Thank you…I'm actually really hungry," he finally replied, taking the bowl from her and sipped at the hot broth, eyes closing halfway as he savored the taste. If anything, Meryl was damn good at making soup.  "That really hit the spot," he complimented as he finished it, giving her one of his goofier looking grins. 

            Meryl hadn't budged- she stood there with her hands clasped in front of her, staring either at Vash or through him. The blond man didn't know what she could possibly be thinking now, but he could ask her or guess at it.  

            "I bet you still think I'm crazy for bringing Knives here, don't you?"

            The small insurance lady furrowed her eyebrows and flickered her gaze to the other man, still asleep, then returned it to Vash. 

            "You're damn right I do, but you hardly do anything without reason despite how you make the situation appear. What are you planning to do with him now that he's here? I thought you were going to kill him when you found him."

            Vash tilted his head to focus on the window letting in the stream of soft moonlight- he could see the red fifth moon high in the sky with the infamous crater that he had caused. How long ago was that? It felt like forever. 

            "I couldn't kill him.  I wanted to so badly, but I couldn't do it because he's…he's my brother.  I made a promise to her, to Rem, that I'd take care of him, and that's what I'm going to do.  Do you understand?"

            Meryl frowned lightly, following his gaze to the moon. She had witnessed that event when it happened- how frightened she'd been was beyond explanation, beyond reasonable wording.  But Vash was far from the monster everyone had made him out to be.  He was probably the gentlest soul she'd ever met, next to poor Milly of course. 

            "I think so," she responded, moving slowly to sit on the edge of the bed. "But you haven't answered my question. You say you're going to take care of him, but how are you going to do that?"

            "I have to change him," was the quite reply as his aqua green eyes danced over to meet her concerned gaze. "I have to change Knives and make him realize that you can save the spider _and the butterfly."_

            "Huh? What the hell does that mean?" Meryl arched an eyebrow.  Spiders and butterflies, was he nuts? She didn't get a chance to question him anymore. At that moment a murmur came from the second bed, the voice belonging of course to Knives.

            "You have to kill the spider in order to save the butterfly. You can't save them both, it's impossible, I've told you that before, Vash."

            Meryl jumped up from the bed, suddenly feeling very nervous.  With the wounds that Knives had all over him she was surprised that he had even regained consciousness so soon. It was only the second night since Vash brought him to Demetri- of course he and his brother both slept through an entire night and day.  She forgot for a moment that they were related, and that Vash had been known to pull through life threatening situations before in far less time than it would've taken any normal human. 

            A smirk crossed Vash's lips as he and Meryl watched Knives sit up slowly, looking very disheveled. 

            "It can be done, Knives, you just have to figure out the way to do it." 

            A low chuckle emitted from the pale blond man's throat- it was cold, ruthless, and gave Meryl the heebie-jeebies. 

            "After all that has happened, how can you still be on the search for Rem's mindless teachings?" 

            "I should…go," Meryl had already begun creeping for the door. 

            It slammed shut with merely a glance from Knives. He grinned malevolently, straining to push his feet over the side of the bed to get up. However, he couldn't find the strength and stopped halfway there, his legs merely dangling with the sheets crumpled on the floor. 

            Vash, though, had more than enough strength, and stood with ease, striding quickly to his brother's bedside. 

            "I don't think you've had enough rest yet, Knives. Go back to sleep." 

            Before Knives could retaliate, Vash's fist rose in the air and swing down hard upon his brother's head, knocking him back out.  He was just too tired to deal with more violence and battling, especially in the dead of night.  

            Meryl gasped when Vash had done that, and upon hearing her intake of air the tall bandaged man turned and flashed her a bright smile.

            "I couldn't have him causing trouble already and waking everyone up, now could I? Thanks for the soup, Meryl, but you should go back to bed and get some rest."

            As he crossed back to his own bed, Meryl replied to him. "Are you sure he'll be out the rest of the night? What if he wakes up again?"

            Vash halted his steps, turning and leaned against the wall near the window frame, his form half covered in shadow and half bathed in moonlight. 

            "Don't worry, I can handle it okay? Just go back to bed and don't sit outside the door like you were doing before. Alright?"

            Flustered that he knew she'd been doing that, Meryl turned, opened the door and shut it quietly behind her.  She wouldn't sleep the rest of the night- Milly was snoring again.

                                                                                                            ~End Part Two~


	3. Part Three

**~Under the Sky so Blue: Aftermath~**

****

**Part Three**

****

The sun filtered through the slightly dusty paned windows of the motel room in Demetri, making the tiny specks of dust all the more visible as they floated around the room above the wooden floor.  Vash sat back easily in a rickety wooden chair across the room watching his brother sleep.  There was a knot on Knives' head where he'd been hit the night before to be sent back to lullaby land, but it was quickly disappearing.  The blond spiky haired man sighed heavily as he thought, his aqua eyes not once blinking or leaving from his brother's form. 

            'How can I do it? How can I do it Rem?' Vash asked silently. 'How can I change Knives? I can do it, can't I? I can take care of him like you told me to, but I don't know if he'll let me.'

            That was all Vash worried about now- taking care of Knives.  How could he take care of Knives when all his brother cared about was death and destruction and coming out on top?  Meryl might have been right, saying that he was insane to bring Knives into town, but what else could he do? There was no way that being in solitude again would help at all.  Knives had to see how people lived, that they weren't weak because of their emotions, that they weren't inferior because they weren't like he and Vash were.

            As though hearing his thought, which wasn't at all surprising to Vash if he could, Knives stirred in his sleep.  Within a few minutes he'd sat up, albeit slowly, and let his gaze travel around the room until they reached Vash's form near the door.  Knives arched an eyebrow and smirked cruelly. 

            "I'm shocked you didn't finish me in my sleep, Vash. Then again, knowing you, maybe I'm not so surprised after all."  He lifted his fingers to the knot on his head and hmph'ed shortly, narrowing his light blue eyes. "You hit me…you actually hit me."

            Unfazed, Vash shrugged, "I had to so you didn't go crazy last night and try to hurt anyone."

            Knives sneered, "By anyone you mean that lowlife human girl that was in here with you?  That wouldn't have been such a loss."

            Vash sighed softly to himself then shook his head. "She isn't a lowlife and she has a name- Meryl is a friend."

            "Friends," Knives scoffed and found the strength to get out of bed, examining the bandages on his body, "I should've known you'd be so weak as to resort to having friends."

            To this Vash didn't answer but only stood as well as his brother looked to the foot of the bed to see a pair of trousers and a white collared shirt folded up there. It was then Knives noticed Vash was dressed very similarly, abandoning the red trench coat which was hanging from a peg on one of the walls. 

            "What's this?" Knives curled his lip in disgust, "I'm not wearing that- I'm not like those pathetic people out there, I refuse to dress like them."

            "You don't have a choice. We have to blend in here, they can't know who I am or we'll have to leave."

            Knives chuckled and started moving for the door, "I'm not staying anyhow. You should have killed me when you had the chance, Vash; you're only making it worse for yourself."

            As Knives reached for the doorknob, Vash quickly sidestepped into his path and knocked his arm away from it. Narrowing his eyebrows with determination, the kinder twin stared at his brother unrelentingly calm. 

            "You're not going anywhere, Knives.  I can keep you here, I can beat you again just like last time, so it'd be futile to try."

            Slightly stunned and a little confused, Knives grunted, "Are you holding me hostage?"

            "If that's what it takes…yes."

            "If that's what it takes to do what, Vash? Tell me what you could possibly be planning."

            Vash smiled very faintly, "I'm going to take care of you."

            "Take care of me?!" Knives cried and laughed ruefully, "You can hardly take care of yourself, I was always the one making the decisions, and I'm the reason we didn't starve or die from heat exhaustion all those years! What makes you think you can take care of _me?"_

            A few moments passed as they stared each other down, Vash never letting the gentle shadow of a smile move from his lips.  He would take care of Knives; he had to because Rem told him to. Rem must have known somehow that Knives would turn out very unlike Vash…that one day Vash would have to make his brother see that he was wrong. 

            "Rem told me to."

            Rolling his eyes, Knives took a step back, "Rem.  That stupid woman filled your head with nonsense."

            Clenching his teeth, Vash grabbed Knives' neck tightly, lifting his chin up and spoke angrily.

            "Rem wasn't a stupid woman! She was smart, she knew right from wrong, she saw everyone equally! Why is that so horrible?! She told me to take care of you and I'm going to do it, damnit!"

            Light blue eyes wide and brows furrowed, Knives stared at the intense expression across his brother's face and held his breath. He wasn't yet in a position to fight back, and he didn't doubt that Vash could easily bring him down again, especially when Knives was weaponless. Though there were other means of fighting off his brother, his head hurt too much to even want to bother trying just then. 

            Slowly Vash released Knives and gestured to the clothes on the bed. "Now I suggest you get dressed and then we can join the insurance ladies for something to eat. You have to be hungry; you've been asleep for two days."

            Knives couldn't believe him- Vash was actually smiling at him like nothing had happened at all. He wouldn't admit that he was actually starving- his pride got the best of him- but deciding that fighting back wouldn't be a good idea just yet, Knives reluctantly agreed.  However, when he had the chance to do it, Vash would soon be looking down the barrel of a shiny gun…

                                                                                                ~End of Part Three~


	4. Part Four

**~Under the Sky so Blue: Aftermath~**

****

**Part Four**

****

            "I can't believe I let Vash talk us into this," Meryl grumbled as she and Milly walked the streets of Demetri toward a very small restaurant.  

            The petite insurance woman crossed her arms with an expression of mild contempt for the spiky blond haired man, yet her lumbering assistant knew better than that.  Milly beamed brightly down at her companion and spoke with her usual cheeriness. 

            "What do you mean Meryl? I think breakfast is a great idea, and besides, we get to meet Mr. Vash's brother, don't we?"

            Meryl scowled. "That's the part I'm worried about. Meryl, Knives is nothing but a cold blooded killer- if everything Vash has told us is true, he could very well decide to attack us during breakfast."

            The tall brunette girl sighed, "Well if he thought we'd be in danger I don't think Mr. Vash would have invited his brother anyway. And remember, you thought Mr. Vash was a killer too and he turned out really nice, didn't he?"

            'Does anything anyone says ever really get through to her?' Meryl thought with a side glance to Milly as they entered the restaurant. 

            It was almost empty, but the table in the far corner proved to be occupied by two blond young men, one sitting up very straight and the other one with his head slightly bowed. Vash and Knives were dressed as any normal young man would be in the city- both adorned in tan trousers not unlike the ones Milly wore, and white button up shirts.  However, Vash had red suspenders and one button undone while Knives appeared more cleaned up, shirt buttoned to the last button-hole. 

            "Oh hey Mr. Vash, you got here before we did!" Milly shouted as they walked across the floor to the table. She turned her gaze to Knives, "It's really great to meet you Mr. Knives!" 

            Knives arched an eyebrow, staring at the hand she stuck out in front of his face in greeting with disgust. He suppressed a disproving growl and refused to take her hand.

            "I don't know who you are, therefore I don't think I should be entirely too pleased upon making your acquaintance. Vash, who are these cretins?"

            Meryl winced as Milly jumped the gun and replied upset before Vash had the chance. 

            "We're not cretins! We're representatives of the Bernardelli Insurance Society, disaster investigators section! I'm Milly Thompson, and this is Meryl Stryfe, and I think it's very rude that you didn't shake my hand."

            Laughing nervously, Meryl stepped in front of the taller girl, glancing between Knives and Vash. "I'm very sorry, sir, she gets a little carried away with herself sometimes."

            Knives was not amused, and neither was Vash.

            "No. Don't apologize to him- he should apologize to both of you for being so rude, just as Milly said."

            Meryl thought she was used to Vash's serious side, but it turned out she wasn't at all.  Her blue eyes flickered toward him, studying the completely concentrated expression on his face. Of course, why wouldn't he be serious?  He had to be with Knives around- his brother caused him so much trouble, he had to be sure it didn't happen again soon. 

            Knives scowled at the insurance girls and muttered something like an apology before Vash motioned for them to take a seat.  Meryl quickly slid into the seat beside Vash while Milly took the one next to Knives with a smile still plastered to her face. They were all quite silent until the pale blond twin grew annoyed with the choice of seating arrangements.

            "Why are you smiling like that for? There's nothing to smile about, it's annoying."

            Puzzled briefly, Milly looked at him then to Vash and Meryl before answering.

            "Well it's like my big, big sister always said- Even if there's nothing to smile about it always makes people feel happy, so I smile because people should be happy."

            Still irked, Knives looked away, trying to plot his way out of this mess. He was surrounded by idiots and his incompetent excuse of a brother.  It was clear to him that Vash was dedicated to Rem and her foolish teachings. Didn't he know that not everyone could be saved? Sacrifices had to be made, he told him that before- the lesser and weaker race had to be destroyed in order for them to live fulfilling lives.  But Vash was always in the way of Knives' hopes and dreams and now in order to live up to them he had to get rid of his brother. He hoped it wouldn't come to it, that he wouldn't have to be the only one remaining, but the fool simply refused to see logic and reason.

            He was too weak to do it now, but Knives would cause chaos and havoc like Vash never saw before.  Slowly a grin came over his face as a plan evolved in his mind…a game would be played and Vash would become a pawn unknowingly. It couldn't happen too quickly, suspicion must not arise, but Knives could pull it off. He would have to in order for anything to go the way he wanted.

                                                                                                            ~End Part Four~


	5. Part Five

**~Under the Sky so Blue: Aftermath~**

****

**Part Five**

****

            "Gee thanks for breakfast Mr. Vash it was really delicious!" Milly beamed as the four began their way out of the restaurant. 

            Vash smiled brightly in response, one arm around his brother to keep him standing as they walked. "Hey no problem Milly, we should do this again sometime…wasn't it fun Knives?"

            Knives, who wasn't at all very keen on being aided when it came to walking but knew he had no choice because it was really painful to do it alone, only nodded in response. His pale blue eyes turned over the people bustling about the town of Demetri, conversing in the small marketplace or gathered around the well.  How badly did he just want to swing an arm and have them all blasted away, evaporated into nothingness?  It was so wanted, so desired, he could taste it…but it had to wait.  In his absence, he could only hope that what remained of the Gung-ho Guns would somehow gather a few more members and continue with the plan he'd laid out.  Surely by now they would notice something was awry upon his not returning.

            "Knives? Are you alright?" Vash asked worried, resuming their steps toward the motel again. His brother needed more rest- it was probably foolish to bring him out like this so quickly. 

            The pale blond man took only a moment before responding, "I'm tired. I don't think this breakfast was a good idea, dear brother.  I need my rest you idiot."

            Completely disregarding the insults, Vash agreed with his brother and silently moved on until they reached the room in the motel. By that time Knives had already left the aid of his brother and crossed to his bed, sitting down heavily to stare out the window. Fatigue washed over his body and mind, his eyes drooped slightly as he sighed and reluctantly lay backward onto the slightly lumpy mattress.  Sitting next to that strange lumbering human girl drained what energy he had left in him- she was really quite bothersome.  And that other girl, the little human, it struck him humorous that she had very strong feelings for his brother. 

            In fact…it made him laugh. 

            "Huh? What is it? What's so funny?" Vash queried, arching an eyebrow in curiosity. No one had said a word.

            Knives let on a very faint smirk, "That little human girl is in love with you dear brother, it strikes me as funny.  A simple being such as she couldn't possibly ever have a chance with superiors such as ourselves."

            The blond spiky haired man took several moments to register what his brother had just said then blinked and laughed hysterically.

            "Meryl? In love with me?! What are you talking about she just follows me all the time, its part of her job, she has to do it ya know!"

            Without cracking a smile or saying anything more, Knives closed his eyes, leaving Vash to wonder some more upon the simple statement of truth. It just wasn't possible, that's all- Meryl couldn't stand him anyhow, she proved that time and time again and left bumps and bruises on Vash constantly to remind him of it.  But it was really eating at him, and so he shook Knives violently to wake him up.

            "Knives, you weren't serious were you?"

            "I'm not answering that brother, you should know the answer to it yourself. Now, I'm tired, so would you please leave me to sleep in peace?"

            Vash shook his head, "I'm not leaving you here alone, what kind of idiot do you take me for?"

            "So you don't trust me to simply be resting in your absence? Dear brother, I am quite insulted." Knives opened one eye a slit to glance at Vash's expression.

            "Uh, umm…" Vash frowned, his eyebrows narrowed as he raised a hand in the air with his pointer finger extended as though he were about to make a point. Realizing that it would be difficult to change his brother if he couldn't even display a small act of trust, Vash gave in and nodded. "Fine, but I'm going to have Milly outside of the door to make sure you don't go anywhere."

            Knives chuckled, closing both of his eyes once more and folded his hands over his stomach comfortably.

            "With that oaf of a human mistake outside my door I'll be sure to stay here lest she annoy me to death."

            Not quite sure on how to reply to that, Vash put his hand on the doorknob, pausing only when he heard his brother speaking to him again.

            "You might want to be careful opening the door, Vash, I think we have eavesdroppers."

            Sure enough, the moment the door was opened, in tumbled Meryl and Milly, grinning sheepishly at him. 

            "Oh! Vash would you be more careful you idiot, we were just coming in and you had to go and open the door like that!" Meryl immediately scolded in an attempt to save face, though all the while she was looking rather nervous.

            As they stood, Milly raised an eyebrow, "But Meryl, we weren't just coming in, you told me to be quiet so you could hear what Mr. Vash and Mr. Knives were talking about."

            A deep blush spread over Meryl's face and she clenched her fists, "Milly…oh never mind. Where are you going?"

            Vash had already begun to move out the door but stopped mid step with a foot in the air, turning his head to look at the insurance girls. He grinned slowly and stood normally, bringing a stiff hand to his forehead in a salute.

            "I am leaving the premises in order to allow my brother to get some rest Miss, Sir, Miss!"

            Not at all amused with his antics, yet somehow relieved to see Vash hadn't changed after the ordeal with Knives, Meryl gestured to Knives.

            "Who's going to stay here to watch him?! You can't just leave Knives alone!"

            Once again irked at being rudely awakened, this time by volume, Knives spoke from his bed. "Believe it or not human, I am capable of watching myself- I do not require a babysitter. However, since my brother seems to think the same as you do, something I believe degrades him greatly, he suggested having the big strange human girl on guard duty."

            Milly tilted her head as all eyes were focused on her and she smiled broadly, "I can do it, no problem Mr. Vash, I'd be more than happy to!"

            Knives sighed, "How wonderful…now that my babysitter has been decided may I please be allowed some sleep?"

            Vash nodded, ushering Meryl out of the room, leaving Milly to keep watch, then proceeded to walk toward the outskirts of town.  It wasn't until he was just a few yards from the edge when he noticed Meryl was walking alongside him. 

            "Did you need something?"

            The petite insurance woman stared straight ahead, "Not really no, but I thought you might like some company, is that alright with you?"

            Knives' words echoed in his mind about Meryl but he didn't let that on.  Instead he nodded and smiled lightly.

            "I'd like that."

                                                                                                            ~End Part Five~


	6. Part Six

**~Under the Sky so Blue: Aftermath~**

****

**Part Six**

****

            Milly sat still in the chair with her hands clasped tightly on her lap wearing what appeared to be an empty smile upon her face. Her light blue-green eyes gazed straight, focused on Knives' still form as he slept on his bed. Correction- as he _tried to sleep on his bed. While all else was silent, Milly somehow started humming something tuneless, very softly, but nevertheless it could be heard._

            The injured man squeezed his eyes tightly shut as the big girl's incessant humming began to just more than annoy him.  How could anyone put up with her drivel? How could anyone put up with _her_?  He knew of Nicholas Wolfwood's connection to this human and wondered what in the world the man saw in her. Clumsy oaf of a human, Knives thought before he sat up sharply, pain throbbing in his head from the sudden movement.

            "Would you stop that?! Stop that bothersome noise before I silence you permanently!"

            The humming ceased immediately as Milly blinked, turning her head to look at Knives. 

            "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't even notice I was making any noise Mr. Knives. Well, since you're up, do you want anything to eat? Meryl has some soup left I think and maybe some coffee too."

            It was all he could do to keep from discarding of the garbage before him but he clenched his teeth and shook his head.

            "I just ate an hour ago I don't need anything."

            Before Milly could respond, Knives pushed himself from bed, grunting softly with his effort and began walking toward the door. Within a few seconds the big girl had blocked his path, pulling from seemingly nowhere a huge stun gun, pointed in Knives' face. 

            "And where do you think you're going, Mr. Knives?"

            Taken aback, Knives' light blue eyes widened and he took a few steps back from the weapon aimed at him. Then, narrowing his eyebrows, the man crossed his arms and chuckled lightly. 

            "Outside, human, stop pointing that at me."

            "I don't think so!" Milly furrowed her brows and shook her head, "Mr. Vash said you need your rest and I'm supposed to keep guard here until he comes back, so I'm not leaving and neither are you."

            Misjudging her seriousness, Knives still attempted to go around the girl's form, and the result was a huge metal 'x' hitting him squarely in the chest, sending him flying back to the bed. It hurt horribly and Knives expressed it by letting out an awful shout.

            "You miserable creature! I'm injured, what do you think my dear brother is going to think of you now that you've made it worse?! Look, I'm bleeding again!"

            The pale blond man touched his abdomen cautiously as crimson blood seeped through the bandages beneath the white shirt and began soaking the material through. He grimaced and leaned back, tossing the stun gun's 'bullet' to the side, hearing it clank to the floor loudly as Milly rushed to the side of the bed, abandoning her weapon near the door.

            "Oh no, Mr. Vash is never going to forgive me, I'm going to ruin all his plans, oh please I'm so sorry Mr. Knives!"

            Knives arched an eyebrow as he saw her eyes turn starry and bright with welling tears. His theory on humans was right- the moment they feel threatened they would either turn tail and run or attack with viciousness.  Pain was not something Knives was used to feeling- it didn't happen upon him often but it seemed every time it did it was caused by some foolish mortal.  Forgiveness was never in his heart for the things that were done to him, he didn't know how Vash could possibly find compassion for such cruel beings. Spiders for the butterflies, Knives thought and glared at the hysterical girl beside his bed.

            "Silence yourself.  The least you could do is help me instead of blubbering about it."

            At once Milly stopped sobbing and wailing to herself and nodded. "You'll need more bandages Mr. Knives, but I'll have to go get them from Meryl's and my room. Um, you will stay here right?"

            Giving her an expression of obviousness, Knives winced, wrapping an arm around his own torso. He didn't want this…thing touching him, but the reopened wounds hurt like fire and the blood was getting quite messy. 

            "Do I look like I'm in any condition to go anywhere?! Hurry up!"

            "You don't have to get all excited, Mr. Knives, I'm going okay?" Milly frowned, looking once more on the verge of tears as she lumbered out of the room to fetch clean bandages for him. He was awfully mean, not at all like Mr. Vash like she'd hoped he would be.  It appeared Meryl was right after all, but still, she hoped that Knives could be changed for the better. Goodness lay in everyone, even though for some people it really had to be sought out to find it.

                                                                                                            ~End Part Six~


	7. Part Seven

**~Under the Sky so Blue: Aftermath~**

****

**Part Seven**

****

            The sky was turning dark and yet Meryl and Vash had yet to return to the borders of Demetri.  Personally, Meryl wasn't at all worried about Knives getting up and rampaging the city- she had a feeling her friend Milly would keep him in check.  She was, however, worried about the tall blond man sitting at the edge of a cliff staring at the sky. It reminded her of a night not too long ago when she found him doing the same thing, singing to himself.

            Vash wasn't singing this time he was only looking, most likely thinking, and not at all speaking.  The air was becoming slightly chilly with the coming darkness, the moons in the sky becoming more prominent as the sunlight faded. Meryl crossed her arms, keeping her distance as her eyes remained on the silent and thoughtful man.  There were so many sides to him it was difficult to keep track of who he really was.  But in the course of their time spent with him, Meryl and Milly knew that above all Vash had a very good heart. 

            Finally wishing to break the silence, Meryl turned her eyes upon the red moon with the crater instilled into it, and parted her lips to sing softly.

            "So…on the first evening a pebble, from somewhere out of nowhere drops upon the dreaming world…"

            As she sang, the calm climate formed a soft breeze, carrying the sweet and simple tune to Vash's ears.  The blond man didn't move a muscle, his aqua green eyes gazing unblinkingly to the sky, unable to see the moons behind him where Meryl stood. Her voice was not like the way Rem sang her favorite song, but it was still soft…and sweet.

            "So…on the second celestial evening, all the children of the pebble join hands and compose a waltz…"

            Turning, Vash glanced to Meryl who appeared completely at ease, her hands at her sides, blue-grey gaze trained on the twilight of the sky. As the wind ruffled her hair Vash thought he saw…a shadow of her against the insurance girl's form.  They could almost be one and the same…Rem was a little taller, her hair was longer and they didn't have the same colored eyes but still, Meryl suddenly reminded him of her. 

            He stood, dusting his pants off and moved beside her, humming the rest of the lyrics.  As the song ended a soft smile crossed his lips. 

            "That was Rem's favorite song."

            Meryl didn't look at him but nodded, "It's one of mine too; a simple song but beautiful."

            Neither spoke for some time, the petite young woman swaying slightly in the wind, her hand brushing against the frame of the tall man beside her. She froze, trying to think of something to say. Meryl couldn't say how much Vash drove her bananas, but she also couldn't say how much she really cared for him. And now there she stood, her fingers wrapping around the cuff of his shirt absently as she sought for something to say.

            Vash noticed immediately, his brother's words leaking into his mind once more. Instantly blushing, he jerked his hand away, rearing from her and pulled a leg up as though shying away. He began laughing psychotically, instantly breaking Meryl from her train of thought.

            "Ahahaha it's getting late! We should go back, we stayed out much longer than I intended, ha-ha-ha-ha, let's not waste anymore time here!"

            Before a proper response could be given, in this case would be a severe smack from Meryl, Vash's form promptly began hiking down the gentler slope of the cliff. Clapping a hand over her forehead, Meryl followed him, cursing herself and cursing him for being so stupid. It was only when they reached the outskirts of town that she remembered Milly guarding Knives. 

            Sure, she'd disregarded the matter some time earlier, but it didn't really kick in that if he wanted to, Knives would find a way past Milly and her stun-gun to terrorize Demetri. She could imagine the streets littered with the dead and wounded, Milly passed out cold somewhere, or even worse- murdered.  She could imagine the expression on Vash's face as he realized he was already failing in doing what he so desperately wanted to do. The mere thought of it scared her and she ran ahead of him, into town, prepared for the worst.

            Everything was fine.  Everything was perfectly normal. People still strolled the streets, still gathered around the new well, still came in and out of the saloon and restaurant. A heavy weight lift from her shoulders and she sighed heavily.

            "Thank God," she murmured.

            "For what?" Vash queried as they moved toward the motel. 

            Meryl winced, looking to him and he read the expression clearly. His expression darkened slightly before he responded to what her obvious thoughts were.

            "You thought Knives escaped didn't you? He won't do that, not here, he's going to change but if people don't trust him he never will change."

            Feeling absolutely horrible, Meryl turned her cheek the other way, whispering an apology. He was right.  Knives wouldn't ever feel like humans and his kind could co-exist if trust couldn't be built up. But how could she trust someone who caused such horrible things to happen? How could she when Knives was behind everything that Vash went through, behind the bounty on his head?

            As they entered the room where Knives was, they both realized something.  The door was wide open, Milly's chair was empty, her stun gun was on the floor, and Knives' bed was empty.

            "Uh-oh," Vash muttered softly.

 Suddenly believing all her thoughts to be true, Meryl turned and thwacked Vash on the shoulder as hard as she could.

            "What were you saying, you dolt?! He's taken Milly, I know he has! Where is he? He's probably dragged her off to God knows where and-"

            "Were you two looking for me?" Knives' cool and collected voice sounded from behind, cutting Meryl's ranting off. 

            "Huh?" Vash and the insurance girl said in unison, turning their heads to look to the pale blond man leaning against the doorframe so casually.

            "Where's Milly?" Meryl cried, suddenly forgetting Vash's words about trust. Her partner was missing, she couldn't believe that Knives had nothing to do with it.

            "I'm right here Meryl!" The cheerful voice piped up from behind a large brown grocery bag chock full and overflowing with packages of…pudding. "Mr. Vash said to keep an eye on Mr. Knives, but I got so hungry for pudding and there wasn't any left so…I brought him with me."

            Vash beamed, clasping a hand on Meryl's shoulder. "You see? Safe and sound- I told you there was nothing to worry about."

            Scowling, Meryl brushed his hand away, "You didn't say that, you said uh-oh you big idiot!" And with that she stomped out of the room, dragging Milly along with her.

            Knives moved into the room, stepping over the forgotten stun gun and turned to glance at his twin brother, a smirk on his face. Vash hadn't looked worried at all, but that pathetic little human girl had been frantic. 

            "I hope I didn't worry you, dear brother."

            "Not at all, I'm glad you're out and about actually, you can meet more people that way."

            "I only went with her because I was tired of being cooped up in this room all day. Sleep was not an option, the oaf kept humming something annoying.  However, she agreed to leave her weapon here and I agreed not to try and escape. I'm being a well behaved hostage, Vash."

            Vash furrowed his brow- he didn't want Knives to feel like a hostage but he didn't know how else to be sure that his brother wouldn't run away from them. 

            Answering his thoughts, Knives spoke, his blue eyes intense. "Don't be a hypocrite, Vash- you go on about trust to the little human who looks like Rem but don't trust me yourself? What can you possibly hope to achieve thinking that way? Take your own advice brother, it might save us all in the end."


	8. Part Eight

**~Under the Sky so Blue: Aftermath~**

****

**Part Eight**

****

            Footprints indented in a thin layer of sand trailed behind and led indefinitely to the person traipsing them all over the desert planet of Gunsmoke.  The form was slender, standing perhaps no more than five foot five, and had long red hair tied back loosely.  A pale hand lifted to shade eyes of deep blue-green as they gazed upon the rolling horizon, landing on a tiny speck which resembled something of an abandoned shack.

            "How classy," she spoke with something of an indignant snort, reaching over a shoulder to adjust a leather strap on the long quiver resting against her back. 

            In the young woman's right hand she held a metal bow, strung with some strong fiber since the fur of a Tomas was much too short to try threading. The dark blue and black clothes she wore exemplified that of members of the cloth; white-silver crosses pinned and sewn onto the cuffs of the navy blue white collared shirt proved her position. She was a priestess, and judging from the slight wear of her clothing, one who traveled pretty long and far to get to her destination.  

            "What the hell is this place doing in the middle of nowhere, anyway? Humph, well I guess if they wanted privacy no place like right in the open where no one would think to look eh?"

            Her sardonic tone made her chuckle as she grew closer to the building.  It was an abandoned Saloon, looking very much like it had been pieced back together very carefully.  There were cracks running throughout the outer walls and the door was missing. Stopping in front of the would-be establishment, the red haired young woman quirked a brow. What good was a hide-out when there was no door…or roof for that matter?

            Shaking her head, the priestess stepped inside, and immediately recognized where she was. She'd been there before, a very long time ago.  Only a child from what she remembered, maybe about twelve or thirteen years old, and a scrawny thing at that.  Turning her head she smiled faintly in recollection of the young blond woman sitting at a table enjoying a dish of chocolate doughnuts. The woman appeared to be about eighteen or nineteen at the time, but it wasn't until later that she'd find out otherwise…

            ** 'Hungry?' the blond woman asked with a smile, offering a chocolate doughnut to the red headed little girl.

            'A little…hey, thanks!' came the reply. The young girl took a seat across from the blond woman and happily crammed a doughnut down her throat.  She was starving after all, she'd been without food for a couple of days.

            'So what are you doin' all the way out here?' The inquiry finally came after several moments of silence.

            The girl looked about and shrugged, 'It was the first place I saw since…well…all the way since the city of Augusta.'

            Silence.  Then, 'That's an awfully long way, did you travel alone?'

            'Yep,' came the quick reply as she eyed another doughnut which was quickly pushed toward her. 'No family at all, not that I can remember…the orphanage is horrible, so I left.'

            There was more silence until finally the woman reached a hand out and offered it to the girl. 'Then what say you and I hang out for a while until I find you a better place to be? Hm? What's your name anyway?'

            Reluctantly the girl took the young woman's hand and shook it. 'Artemis Fawn…what's yours?'

            'Lily, at least that's what people call me. The Thorned Lily to those who really piss me off…'**

            Artemis stood there with her smile plastered on her lightly freckled face. Back then they'd been more prominent but over time most of them had faded. Still, the stupid things made the twenty-two year old woman resemble a child at times. The nickname 'kiddo' was something she could really live without.

            It wasn't until then that Artemis realized there was music being played. The notes floated around sweetly, slowly in a melancholy voice that wrapped itself around her form and literally made her turn around to see where it came from.

            At the bar, which appeared dreadfully out of place because of its newness, sat a man perhaps in his late twenties or early thirties.  His fingers skillfully played over the notes of a gleaming saxophone, his eyes halfway shut but seeing everything. In the corner of the bar's counter sat another figure, covered in shadow, but Artemis didn't pay attention to the person.  Her eyes were stuck on the saxophone player…that was until his fingers moved for the B-flat and the note came out as nothing but air.

            Instantaneously the spell was broken, the man took his lips from the mouthpiece and turned the corners upward into a wry smile.

            "That bastard Vash the Stampede shot out my beautiful B-flat…so how are ya kiddo? Long time no see."

            Narrowing her eyebrows, Artemis sneered at the man and shook her head in warning. The man merely chuckled softly at what he thought was an empty threat.

            "I can just turn around and walk my ass out of here if you're going to belittle me with childish nicknames."

            "You won't do that, I've means to keep you here against your will if it comes to it Artemis Fawn."

            The red headed young woman licked her lips and sighed. "I've got nowhere else to go- besides, who am I to turn down those in need. Priestess or not, I'm getting bored so would you get on with whatever the plan is…Midvalley was it?"

            The man smiled wryly, "Midvalley the Horn Freak…part of the small number that's left of the Gung-ho Guns."


	9. Author's Note and Part Nine

**Note from the Author** Ok, sorry, I've been a little lax when it comes to responding to some of the nice comments being left here about this story. I wish FF.Net would put up a thing where us authors could respond without having to put it here, but hey, whatever, as long as it gets done. J

Irin- Write more, write more, pushy are we? Ha, but you know it always works to get me tap-tapping away on the computer so…off I go. ^_^

WindWalker22- Brotherly bonding you say? Well I suppose I can try to work on that, as there're so many things that are going to be incorporated into this story. ^_^

Dragoncat- Hey thanks for reading- The chapters will be put up as soon as creativity keeps being kind to me. 

Tempest Strife- Vash had to be violent in that moment, if he hadn't been who knows what might've happened. Just remember though, while he's still injured, Knives isn't exactly harmless.

Lucy-Locke – Well those 2 reviews have grown haven't they? I hope they continue to do so at that. *giggles* I love how Knives reacts to Milly, but then I wouldn't have expected it any other way. Knives will be in for a bit of a surprise though, sooner than you think. J

Vertically Challenged- What about Meryl and Vash? Yeah, things seem to be getting a little more interesting between them, yet that woman is always going to be annoyed by him, I think, no matter how much she likes him. *snickers* 

DeAd-BoDy – Thanks! I just hated the way the show ended, I thought us fans needed to know what happens afterward.

OK then I think that just about covers everyone who has reviewed this story. Keep on my back if I don't do this at least every other chapter alright? You guys gotta keep me on my toesJ.  Well…I hope you are all prepared for the next events. There will be a few new characters as well as at least a couple of old ones as well. Oh yes- if anyone has a very good memory, might someone let me know just which of the Gung-ho Guns _didn't_ die? I know Midvalley didn't, but *shrugs* as for the others, I'm having a bit of difficulty. It's very important to me that I find out so ^_^ any help is appreciated. Thanks! And now...onto the story!

Disclaimer: Sadly I don't own anyone or anything from the Trigun series nor am I affiliated with them in any way, shape, or form. *sighs* But! I do own the characters Artemis Fawn and Lily (actually, Lily is co-owned) and any other made up person is mine as well. ^_^

**~Under the Sky so Blue: Aftermath~**

****

**Part Nine**

****

****

            Artemis tossed a green apple up into the air and caught it, repeating the movement over and over again.  Her blue-green gaze was intense upon Midvalley as he replaced his lips to his saxophone and resumed playing the sweet melody she heard when first entering.  It'd been at least half an hour since her arrival to the rebuilt saloon out in this no man's land, and now she had to contemplate upon whether or not she would agree to do what the Horn Freak asked. 

            Moving her eyes from the sax player, she glanced to the figure in the corner.  Whoever it was hadn't moved since Artemis arrived, nor had they spoken.  The Gung-ho Guns had dwindled down to a mere handful, and even so there were a couple of new recruits. The loss of the majority were all due to some skirmish regarding the legendary ace gunman, Vash the Stampede. While he had only killed one person with his own hands, death and poverty enjoyed following him and causing trouble.  At least, that's what Artemis had heard.  She had never had the pleasure or misfortune of making the Humanoid Typhoon's acquaintance. 

            When the silence behind the music began to bore her, Artemis took a bite out of the apple and sighed heavily.

            "Fine, I'll do it; but on one condition."

            Midvalley didn't stop playing until he reached the missing b-flat note. Slowly he glanced up with a wry smile.

            "What's that?"

            She gestured to the figure in the corner which now stirred at being acknowledged. "I get introduced to everyone else and you tell me everything.  When I say everything, I mean start from the beginning, got that?"

            Artemis didn't like being uninformed.  She wanted to know the entire story- she wanted to know what happened to the rest of the Gung-ho Guns in as much detail as Midvalley could muster.  She arched an eyebrow as he clearly thought it over- there was no way he'd turn down the request, not if he needed her as badly as it seemed.

            "Well?"

            Midvalley glanced over his shoulder then back to the red-haired woman, standing to wave the figure forward. It was suddenly apparent that the figure had become more than one- it had become two! Artemis narrowed her eyebrows some as two identical young men stepped from the shadows, standing side by side. 

            Their hair was dark brown, rich in color and fell in slight waves to their shoulders.  The twin on the right had a wave of hair falling over his left eye, while the twin on the left had a wave falling over his right eye, which was an indescribable shade of silver-blue. Small smiles played over their lips, but they were not smiles of happiness…they were ones of malice. However, any girl in her right mind would think that these two were simply a dream- they were quite handsome.

            Artemis snapped out of her daze to find herself on her knees clinging to the right twin's arm, gazing up at him with shining eyes.

            "Oh, will you marry me?! You're so pretty!"

            Midvalley played a sharp note on his saxophone, causing a ripple in the floor. Artemis blinked and regained seriousness as the twin gazed down at her, smiling a little more broadly. She stood, and moved back to her position across from the three and arched an eyebrow.

            "So then who are they? Are they one or two?"

            "They are both and neither.  His name is Gemini Mimic, one who can merge and split as he so pleases to do- a dangerous opponent if he puts his mind to it."

            Gemini merged back into one person and strode forward to take one of Artemis' hands, placing his lips to the back of it and winked. 

            "So we finally meet the not-so famous but soon to be infamous Arrow Goddess. It is a pleasure."

            Shivers ran along the red-head's spine at his voice. It was smooth like silk, frazzling her nerves a bit. She snatched her hand back from the man and looked to Midvalley.

            "I sure as hell hope you don't think we're going to accomplish anything with just us three- or four, whatever it is!"

            Midvalley paused from playing his saxophone, this time having let riveting notes escape from it. They sounded a bit sour at times, though, and it was due to the missing note. Why he hadn't gotten it repaired was beyond Artemis' comprehension. 

            "This is why you're going alone while I find others."

            Alright- he had left that part out. Artemis' eyes widened. 

            "Alone?! You're going to send me into that town alone to find Knives and expect me to escape with him without getting killed?"

            Midvalley exchanged a weary glance with Gemini before the strange and beautiful man replied. 

            "Of course- unless you think you can't do it. Surely a woman of your…beauteous charm and skill can handle a simple rescue."

            Her eyes became wide and glazed over, cheeks burning as she looked to Gemini. "Anything for you! Ehm, but seriously…I'll do it! I'm not incapable. I'll go to Demetri and get Knives out of there- but first…Midvalley, you owe me a story."


	10. Author's Note and Part Ten

**Note from the Author** Alright, I've only gotten a couple more reviews but I am inclined to reply to them (especially one of them -.-). I must first tell you, my reviewers, that this is a fan fiction site- I keep the characters as much like themselves as I am able to do, I don't like changing an already created character (unless it is Knives, in this case, because it's the whole point of the story). My characters are my own- In any case, I don't want to give anything away, but I'll have to say- if you have a problem with new characters added into a storyline, please don't continue reading, and if you choose to continue reading, don't be surprised to see new additions…

Jaina- Yeah I got that . All the Gung-ho Guns died, it just seemed like someone was still alive only because I didn't remember. No excuse for me, I could've watched the episode- though I could've sworn Monev lived…if he was a Gung-ho Gun at all, that is. I agree though, what you said does make sense, as it goes with the theory…

AnonymousTrigunOtaku- *sighs heavily* Well I've already answered the part about the Gung-ho Guns.  I suppose I can write in a part somewhere about how Midvalley comes back or is revived, but I'll probably wait til later to get to that. As for writing out Artemis, that's a no go, sorry.  I mean, Gemini is a new person as well so I don't see what the problem is with Artemis being in it.  I don't add new characters to a story unless I have a legit reason, and trust me, I do have a reason that has to deal with the entire outcome of the story. Besides, there's no way in hell that Artemis would let me write her out anyway. I suppose it's only fair though, to warn you that the woman named Lily that Artemis met when she was younger is going to make an appearance as well. I suggest that if you're upset that I refuse to take these characters out, that you no longer read the story. Otherwise, be patient and you'll see my intentions. 

Thai Matrix- Ha-ha…thanks, I don't plan on changing my story, as you can see…

Irin- Err, yeah, you're right. They ARE part of the scheme I'm cooking up for the story…

*Artemis comes storming in, bow and arrow in hand, arching an eyebrow* "Who wants me to be written out? I refuse! I absolutely refuse to be written out you can't make me leave, I won't go!! Besides," *tosses hair over shoulder*, "I'm an important character. Sheesh…can't people let fan fiction authors display their ideas? I mean, isn't that what _fan fictions­ _are for?!"

Disclaimers: Normal disclaimers apply- I don't own anyone from Trigun nor am I affiliated in any way.  Artemis, Lily, and Gemini Mimic are owned by me (with the exception of Lily who is co-owned, and then again, more likely not to be owned by anyone should she have her way…), as are any other characters added to the plot line who are not originally in the series…

**~Under the Sky so Blue: Aftermath~**

****

**Part Ten**

****

****

            The man in black continued up the small ascent toward Demetri with one hand stuffed in a pocket as the other placed a crooked cigarette between his lips, then lit it. He inhaled deeply as his blue eyes searched what buildings loomed ahead- there were some people wandering about outside from what he could tell.  It was evening already, so he imagined that most of those still out and about were heading toward the saloon. 

            "Ah, what I'd give for a drink right now," he murmured to himself as his steps took him over the boundaries and into the town. 

            He stopped a few feet into the town, puffing on his cigarette, relishing it as though he hadn't had one in a long while. Actually, come to think of it, he _hadn't_ had one in a long while. His eyes shut for a brief time until a slight breeze and the feeling of someone passing him overcame his form. 

            Eyes snapping open, he saw a tall figure pass him which was incredibly familiar. It was dressed in a long, flowing red trench coat, big boots, and had spiky blond hair. He chuckled and crossed his arms.

            "Well if it isn't Vash the Stampede- the world's favorite needle-noggined ace gunman!"

            The figure stopped in its tracks, hands clenching into fists, just as the man expected.  What he did not expect was for the person to turn around and slap him hard in the face, leaving a glowering red hand mark on his cheek.

            "Ouch! What the hell was that for needle-nog…oh." His eyes grew wide as he suddenly realized his mistake.

            The person looming over him was not Vash the Stampede, but rather a young woman who simply resembled Vash from behind. 

            "In case you haven't noticed, I'm _not Vash the Stampede, because last time I checked he wasn't a woman, _needle-noggin_!" she shouted, lilac eyes glaring at him accusingly. _

            The man put a hand on his cheek where he'd been slapped, "Gee I'm sorry lady, you just looked like someone-"

            "Save it, I've heard it before," she muttered, turning around for the saloon. She needed a drink.

            Rubbing the sore spot on his cheek, he paused before noticing his cigarette had fallen to the ground. 

            "Shit…" he muttered, reaching into a hidden breast pocket for another. He lit it and as he was placing it between his lips, a sharp impact from behind caused him to drop it. His eyes rounded and he let out an exasperated yell. "Can't I get a break?!"

            Whipping around, the man in black saw who it was who'd bumped into him. Another young woman, dressed in a blue top that was somewhat revealing, a pair of black pants, tan shoes, and carried a quiver on her back along with a duffel bad and a metal bow. She blushed, her lightly freckled face soon to rival the shade of her red hair. 

            "Sorry mister, I wasn't paying attention- but you don't have to yell, it was just an accident!"

            His expression softened a little- there was something familiar about her that he couldn't place. He moved his hand from the hand print on his cheek and rubbed the back of his neck. 

            "It's alright, hey, don't sweat it."

            She arched an eyebrow, "What happened to your face?"

            "I was attacked by some lunatic woman- I mistook her for a certain gunman and she went bonkers on me. She went into the saloon so if you're heading that way I'd advise you to steer clear."

            The red-haired woman oddly enough took on a grin from ear to ear, eyes widening. Without another word she continued walking past the man and toward the saloon with eager footsteps.  Snorting, he bent down to retrieve the dropped cigarette and finally managed to light it, inhaling deeply, scanning the dusty sand packed roads. 

            'Has everyone here gone loony?' he asked silently, adjusting the cuffs of his black button up jacket. His blue gaze flickered down to the metal links on them, fingers running over the white-silver crosses on his sleeves. With a smirk he decided to try and brave the saloon after all.  So that woman wasn't Vash- it didn't matter- he knew somehow that the simpering, whimpering, big blond baby was here.  And where there was a bar with liquor, there would be Vash attempting to hold as much as he could. 

            Nodding affirmatively to no one in particular, the black haired man resumed his long strides, hands in his pockets, speaking around his lit cigarette.

            "This is gonna be interesting…"


	11. Author's Note and Part Eleven

**Author's Note**  I'm guessing it isn't difficult for you to figure out who the man smoking the cigarettes is, but I would like to say…this is indeed a fan-fiction, is it not? Meaning I can write things the way I see fit without taking credit from the original makers…now see…I thought that meant I had artistic and poetic license.  Hmm…some people must not know this…

donkey kong- *sighs heavily* I'm well aware that Wolfwood died at the end of the series, but you know what? It's my story and I've brought him back because I don't think he should've died at all.  He doesn't die in the Manga so why should he in the anime? Besides, I'm betting there're a lot of people who have written Wolfwood back into the storyline because they think very similarly to me.  

*A figure in black treads up carrying his Cross Punisher on his shoulder. Lifting an eyebrow he smirks at Donkey Kong* "So what're you sayin' buddy? Just because I died I can't come back? Who are you to say whether or not I can come back? I have fans here- so I died, no reason to call this lovely young author an ass!" *flips over the Cross Punisher and aims it* "If anyone is an ass, it's-"

WHOA! Wolfwood, down boy! *tackles Wolfwood* Heh, I think he gets the point, ok?

*Wolfwood* "Does he?"

Uh…sure he does. *sweatdrops* 

*Wolfwood looks suspicious, but lowers the Cross Punisher* "Fine, but only because of you I'll let him go…keep this in mind, needle-noggin- if you can't say something nice, shut the hell up. May you go with God's protection…now get outta my sight."

*raises eyebrows* Hoo-wee…note to self, do NOT make Wolfwood angry…

*Wolfwood* "Aw, you can't make me angry." 

*glomps Wolfwood* Thanks but uh, you have to go now.

*Wolfwood* "What? Where?"

Back to the story of course ^_^ Byes!

Disclaimer: I do not own any Trigun characters, the Trigun title, nor am I affiliated with them in any way. (But a girl can dream…)

**~Under the Sky so Blue: Aftermath~**

****

**Part Eleven**

****

****

            Meryl and Milly sat at their table well hidden in the corner of the saloon, each with their own special order; a banana sundae for Meryl and Ceylon tea for Milly, their favorites.  Neither had spoken a word since they sat down- both were preoccupied with their own thoughts. The shorter woman was likely thinking about the opportunity she'd blown with Vash when they took that walk, or perhaps thinking about what Vash was going to do about Knives. She had no idea what her partner could possibly be thinking- that was near impossible most of the time. 

            The saloon was pretty much quiet, only a few chatterboxes playing a game of cards at another table occupied the establishment. 

            "It sure is quiet in here," Meryl said softly, her large grey-blue eyes flicked about.

            Milly smiled brightly, "Yeah it sure is! It's kind of nice isn't it? I mean, now that Mr. Vash has no trouble following him."

            This time Meryl didn't reprimand her partner- the people knew who Vash was, but they didn't bother him anymore. In fact, most of them found him quite pleasant company, especially since nothing horrible had happened in all the time he'd been there. 

            "I'm not so sure about that. Bringing his brother here…who knows what that man will do when he's better?"

            "Well," Milly replied thoughtfully, "It's like my big brother says, sometimes you just have to wait and see."

            The sound of the doors opening caused both girls to quiet and look in curiosity. A young woman, tall and blond, donning a red coat, had walked inside, her boots thumping solidly on the floor. The woman didn't bother taking a look around, but made a beeline for the bar, pounding her fist on the counter.

            "Got any chocolate doughnuts?!"

            Blinking with puzzlement, Meryl and Milly watched the blond woman with wide eyes. Chocolate doughnuts? What was this woman thinking?

            The bartender stopped washing a mug and set it down. "I've got doughnuts, but they're not chocolate, and they're reserved for someone else. Sorry no can do, but I can get you something to drink."

            The young woman's jaw fell, "No chocolate doughnuts?! What kind of place _is_ this?"

            At that moment another young woman entered, this one wearing a slightly revealing blue top ending in gloves at her hands and black pants. Her hair was the most eye-catching feature- it was bright red, tied back and ending at the small of her back. She smiled brightly and placed a hand on her hip. 

            "Lily, are you patronizing the poor man? I swear, you cause trouble wherever you go."

            The blond woman turned around and grinned from ear to ear, inviting the other woman over to the bar. 

            As the two made small talk, Meryl and Milly took their eyes from the pair and looked at each other. 

            "Do they remind you of anyone Milly?" 

            "Yeah, they kind of do…but I can't place them. It must not be that important, oh well." She smiled and sipped at her tea happily until the door opened again. The cup clattered to the floor, shattering and spilling the contents. 

            "Milly, what on earth is wrong with you?"

            Meryl failed to realize that her partner had turned as white as a bed sheet and was at that moment staring over her shoulder. 

            "M-Mr. Priest…" Milly whispered, trembling visibly. 

            "What?" The raven haired woman turned her head to follow the big girl's gaze and nearly knocked over her sundae in accordance. 

            It was impossible. The man who had just walked in stood there casually, turning his blue eyes about the small scarcely populated saloon. He lifted his hand to put out the stub of a cigarette left before reaching into his breast pocket for another one. However, he stopped, arching an eyebrow toward the two women at the bar- those he had run into just moments before. 

            "It can't be…there's no way," Meryl stared in disbelief, slack-jawed.

            The blue eyed gazed then turned upon the insurance girls, and an unsure grin crossed his lips as he saw them. It was so nice to see them again…

            "Mr. Priest…" Milly repeated, a little louder, more confident of who it was but completely confused as to how it came to be. Nicholas D. Wolfwood was supposed to be dead.

            "Ha-ha, well hey girls, long time no see."

  **Author's Note** Yes, again. I'm up for ideas on how Wolfwood can explain his return. I've only had a couple of ideas, but I knew I wanted him back in the story coz I hated that he died in the first place.  Also, I'm aware that the Gung-ho Guns all have died, but for the story's sake, I've brought back Midvalley (though I'm wondering if somehow miraculously Legato should have returned instead. Oh well).  I just want to say that if anyone thinks the story is getting too Mary Sue like, as you can see from the above- I don't put in new characters unless I have a reason for them to be there. I looked up the definition of a Mary Sue (or Marty Stu) in a fan-fiction, and what it says is that it is a character displayed as more perfect than the characters of the original story. Well now- Artemis is far from perfect- nor is she here to steal the limelight away. I promise she has a purpose, and to DK- I simply am annoyed by the fact that you were not bothered by the presence of Gemini Mimic (who is a new character), yet you are by the presence of a FEMALE character. *sniffs*…


	12. Author's Note and Part Twelve

**Author's Note** Wow! All good reviews for the last chapter, I'm so happy! Well, I can only hope that they continue, so just please be patient whenever you see someone new or something seems strange because as I said, nothing is done without purpose. Everything will eventually be explained…

Donkey Kong- I'm glad you saw it my way, only because you hadn't given me the chance to have Wolfwood's reappearance be explained. Oh and…Wolfwood apologizes for being so…scary. 

*Wolfwood* "Huh? I do? You're putting words in my mouth! I never said-"

Hush Wolfwood, go back to the story like a good revived priest…

ShinyFairyLights- Thank you! *hugs* I didn't think Artemis was a Mary Sue either…and I hope people see that Lily isn't a Mary Sue either- she'll be having a place in the story as well. I think Midvalley will be the only one of the Gung-ho Guns to return, only his resurrection as well as Wolfwood's will be explained the same way…heh…enjoy. ^_^

Gayle- I meant to respond before, sorry. ^_^ I'm glad you're enjoying the story- I hope you stick around for the whole thing J

Disclaimers: I do not own Trigun or any of the characters nor am I affiliated with them in any way. 

Claims: I DO own Artemis Fawn (aka Arrow Goddess), Lily (she's co-owned…hush up Lily :P), Gemini Mimic, and any other new character that might be added later. 

**~Under the Sky so Blue: Aftermath~**

****

**Part Twelve**

****

****

            "Mr. Wolfwood, it's you? It really is you?" Meryl Stryfe blinked with utter disbelief as her partner gaped in silent awe. Nothing more had left the big girl's lips, and the petite insurance girl had hardly blinked in the last few minutes. 

            The priest shuffled his feet on the ground and nodded once, a sheepish smile on his face. Man was this weird or what? He had a lot to explain, a lot to tell…well maybe it wasn't really a long story, but it wasn't hard to see why they thought his being there was inconceivable. He waved a hand then gestured toward the bar. 

            "Give me just a moment ladies and I'll be right back," he turned and moved to the bar, feeling their dubious gazes on his back. Hey, if he were in their place his eyes would've bugged out of his head by now, at least twice, but he needed a drink before getting into any details. 

            Wolfwood came up beside the two women he'd met on the street going to the saloon and asked for a beer, placing down some double dollars on the counter. As he did, the black cat seemingly snoozing there batted the back of his hand, scratching it with a sleepy meow, then got up and walked away.

            "Ow! Damn cat- I mean, aren't God's creatures great?" He quickly changed his tune as both women eyed him after his brief outburst. 

            "Yeah…right," they both replied in unison before going back to their conversation. Between them both there was about four bottles of liquor, drained. 

            Snorting, Wolfwood thought about Vash for a second- that needle-noggin couldn't hold his liquor if his life depended on it.  Nah, he'd figure his way out of that mess too.  Somehow, Vash found a way out of everything…the man was simply amazing, which made up for being hare-brained most of the time.

            Taking his beer, the priest returned to the table where the insurance girls sat, pulling up a seat for him self. Milly and Meryl gawked as he gulped down the liquor then slammed the bottle down with a sigh of satisfaction.

            "Well, I'm guessing I've got a story to tell you- but before I begin, where's that needle-noggin? Is he around? Of course he is, you two are always following him, so he must be here- what's with the faces? You look like someone's died." He stopped with an arched eyebrow then leaned across the table, "Other than me, I mean! He is okay, isn't he? He came out of that fight with Knives alive, right? I hope he destroyed that…aw, come on, and tell me!"

            Meryl drew a sharp breath seeing that Milly was still rendered speechless, and replied to the drill of questions thrown at them.

            "Vash is here, yes, and he is safe. As safe as any of us can be, that is."

            "Huh? What's that supposed to mean? Is he still causing trouble? Boy, he hasn't changed much." Wolfwood chuckled softly, glancing at Milly. He felt a faint smile cross his lips- he would deal what was going to be something of an awkward situation with her later.

            "What I mean is…"

            "…Meryl are you sure you should say anything? I mean, shouldn't Mr. Vash see him first before we say what happened?" Milly cut in softly, turning her still perplexed gaze to the raven haired woman. 

            The big girl was right- it was something Vash should explain.  Besides, the insurance girls did an awful lot of explaining for him, it was probably time for the blond man to speak for his own actions for once. 

            "Yeah, you're right Milly. Mr. Wolfwood, if you're willing to wait here I'll go and get Vash and bring him to meet you. Milly, come with me."

            The brunette girl stood up, clasping her hands in front of her, nodding, returning her gaze to Wolfwood. She was a little afraid to leave, only because she was afraid that when they returned, the priest would no longer be sitting there.  Regardless of her feelings, Milly knew why she had to go with Meryl- Knives couldn't be left alone, after all.  

            "It takes both of you to drag him here? I was sure you were perfectly good at doing that alone, Meryl," Wolfwood smirked lightly.

            "She has to come with me for reasons I can't yet disclose to you, I'm sorry. You'll find out soon enough. We'll be back." Meryl replied and led her partner out of the saloon to go back to the motel, leaving Wolfwood with his beer, a new cigarette, and the two strange women at the bar.

            *                                                          *                                                          *

            Knives stared out of the window to the moons in the sky and smiled grimly. He knew Vash was just waiting for him to say something, and of course he was going to.

            "It looks like its very nice outside, dear brother, the moons are very bright. Why, you can even see the crater in the fifth moon so very clearly tonight. I must say, you did a wonderful job making your mark."

            The incredible calmness in his twin's voice irritated Vash, but not to the point where he would resort to doing something drastic like knocking him out again.  The spiky haired blond man simply kept his arms crossed as he leaned against the wall, watching Knives and thinking. There was little change in the way Knives acted, yet nonetheless, there was still something about him that had given Vash some new hope.  Injured or not, Knives could have done a lot of damage, and yet he hadn't done so. Just thinking about it brought the tiniest of smiles to Vash's face. 

            "I wouldn't have thought I'd find you smiling over it, Vash." The pale blond said without turning around. Of course Knives would know…he and Vash shared the same gift of some telepathy only Vash rarely used it. Leave it to the spiky haired guy to want to be as close to human as possible.

            "I have other reasons to smile. Knives…do you ever think you can learn to accept humans as equals?" Vash asked the question that had been on his mind for ages. "Do you think you could learn to live with them in peace?"

            "You should know the answer to that brother- humans are not equal to us, nor will they ever be. You shouldn't compare us to them…well, you've already stooped to living as one, but you shouldn't compare me to them. They will never be the same as us." Knives replied curtly, lifting his chin. 

            Sighing, Vash pushed away from the wall and stared at his brother. Rem wanted what was best for them both, and while Vash would now live by his own words, he could not completely push away what she had taught him. He could remember the days when Knives looked up to her as much as Vash did, when they would always spend time together in the Rec. Room having picnic lunches and playing games, or simply walking around to talk. What on earth had happened? What could have happened to make Knives hate people that much? Could it have been Steve? That man never appreciated the twins being on board- in truth he was frightened of them and used his fear as anger against them both. 

            "Not all people are like him," Vash murmured quietly to his brother.  Knives would know of whom he spoke. "There are good people out there, ones who work hard and try to live every day to the fullest. Nobody is perfect Knives, including you and I."

            Before the response could be made, which might've been very sharp indeed, the motel door swung open, hitting Vash in the back.  In that moment the blond man found himself sprawled on the floor and dizzy. He rubbed the back of his head with his left cybernetic arm and sat up with a goofy expression on his face as Meryl and Milly burst inside.

            "Gee, sorry about that Mr. Vash, I didn't know you were right by the door." Milly apologized, giving a smile to both he and Knives. 

            "Don't worry, I'm sure the stars will go away soon," he groaned as he stood up. "Why did you come bursting in here like that anyway?"

            "It's…well…you need to come with me, Vash, I can't really explain it here." Meryl grabbed onto his sleeve. "Milly will stay here with Knives, come on."

            "I'll go with you, but Milly doesn't have to stay. I'm trusting that Knives won't try anything funny…" Vash glanced to his brother as he was being tugged out of the room. 

            Hearing the words and ignoring Meryl's protests, Milly followed them and shut the door. In some odd way, Knives had actually felt something give way…his brother was displaying trust. It was probably very foolish, and yet, Knives would not run out and destroy everything and everyone as the little black haired human thought he might. He knew what it was that Meryl needed Vash for…or rather, he knew _who it was. Knives felt it long ago but never said a word. He also felt the presence of another- someone he'd been hoping would show up. With a smirk, Knives turned his blue gaze back to the sky and waited for the inevitable._

***Dun, dun, dun! Well, what'd you think? There'll be another part up soon enough…^_^ Please, nice reviews. If you're going to critique, do it nicely thanks. J


	13. Author's Note and Part Thirteen

**Author's Note** Yay! I have more reviews to reply to! I'm so happy that people are enjoying the story and being very patient with me to see where the storyline heads. I hope that by the end of the tale after the tale, that Trigun fans will be more satisfied than the actual end of the series left us. ^_^

Donkey Kong- Ants huh? Well no worries there- Wolfwood is my sworn bodyguard when it comes to things that are annoying. ^_^

ShinyFairyLights- I see you've picked up the mild link (for now) between Vash and Lily.  It gets much more interesting, I promise you that. And don't worry about Knives too much- he'll behave if he's to get his way, am I right? He's a very naughty plant-boy…indeed…manipulative…and I wouldn't have him any other way. *grins wickedly*

Jess Perry- Yes, Vash is very hot. *drools* Hum, but I've got my eyes on another certain blond *grins* that's if Wolfwood let's me…he's protective of his girls…right Milly?

*Milly* "Yep, he sure is! Mr. Wolfwood is just like that!"

See? *smiles*

Disclaimers: I do not own Trigun or any of the Trigun characters, nor am I affiliated with them in any way. I am not making any profit from this story other than personal satisfaction in receiving these lovely reviews. J

Claimers: All original characters are either owned solely by me or are co-owned.  (Original characters are NOT Mary Sues, by the way, and for the time being consist of Artemis Fawn, a.k.a. The Arrow Goddess, Lily, and Gemini Mimic, as well as other soon to be added Gung-ho Guns).

**~Under the Sky So Blue: Aftermath~**

****

**Part Thirteen**

****

****

            The sounds of birds chirping at the windowsill gently brought the urge for Nicholas D. Wolfwood to open his eyes and wake up.  A day had passed and so did a night since he found the insurance girls and Vash the Stampede in Demetri, but it felt like he had never left them.  Carefully, the priest slid out of bed, pulling his black pants over his boxers and moved to the window for his morning cigarette. His blue eyes flickered to the still sleeping figure of Milly Thompson, and this time he managed to smile. He wouldn't be leaving her again like he had last time- in fact he never really left her at all.

            A light chuckle escaped Wolfwood's throat at the memory of Vash laying eyes on his thought to be dead companion for the first time…that needle-noggin thought the girls had brought him to a ghost. Yep, Vash was the same cry baby he'd been before his encounter with Knives; that alone made Wolfwood wonder why on earth the blond guy hadn't finished his brother off.  It was Knives' fault- everything was that sorry excuse for a living being's fault- the mass murders, the vanishings, the trouble that constantly followed Vash because of a bounty that never should've been. If Wolfwood had been in Vash's place he undoubtedly would've killed him.

 But now…the priest smirked as he exhaled slowly...in the moment when Wolfwood truly thought the end of his life had come, he had asked forgiveness from God. He realized that the way Vash lived might seem crazy and dangerous, but the man always found a way to save as many people as possible. 'Can you save your brother, Vash? I hope so, for the sake of everyone.' Wolfwood thought, putting out the lit cigarette. 

Those questions were asked later, though.  The most important question on everyone's mind was how Wolfwood was back from the dead. At first he thought it too complicated to give the entire story, so he broke it down the best way he knew how…

*…_"It was an accident the day the bus happened by me in the desert- I hadn't been expecting to come across Vash so soon after my orders were given out by Knives. That's right- I knew about Knives the entire time and never let anybody know about it until the day of my supposed death. Anyhow, I guess I figured that the faster I got my job done, the faster I could go back to December…"_

_"What do you mean by that?" Vash asked, extremely serious and very interested in hearing more._

_Wolfwood took a long gulp of his beer and sighed heavily. "My job was to make sure that you were delivered safely to Knives for what was supposed to be the final battle, a showdown. Why there were so many Gung-ho Guns out to kill you under his discretion before you got here, I have no idea- your brother has a strange way of thinking, though that's not anything you didn't know already, huh? If I hadn't agreed to do it, they would've destroyed the orphanage…I couldn't let those kids down, I couldn't let them suffer anymore. Do you understand why I had to do it?"_

_Nodding, Vash held sympathy in his eyes, looking as though he were ready to start bawling at any time. The priest made him hold off his tears until the end of the story- Vash and the girls all stared, waiting for him to continue._

_"Despite the fact that this needle-noggin can get on everyone's nerves, I found that I actually wanted to protect him.  He's never done anything to deserve the treatment he's gotten from people, which made me think, I really hope he destroys Knives in Demetri. That's why I wanted to know, Vash, that day when we had our guns drawn and ready, aiming at each other. I realize now that maybe you were right after all…In what I believed were my final moments, I wished and prayed and yelled that I wasn't ready to die. I bet he had a field day."_

_"Huh? He who?" Meryl blinked, looking up from her mushy banana sundae. It had melted long before they'd returned with Vash._

_"Legato," came the simple response as the last of the beer was drained from the priest's bottle._

_The collective gasp made Wolfwood smile grimly- he had expected that sort of reaction. _

_"When I tell you what he did, you might not be so surprised," he resumed speaking, striking a match to light a cigarette. "I was face to face with a Gung-ho Gun by the name of Chapel the Evergreen. It was strange…dueling the man that trained me for ten years, and I thought I had him. Oddly enough, I didn't kill him…he gave me a wound…a horrible wound, and of course I had the feeling it was the end of me. What I didn't know was that Legato loomed nearby…Vash, you probably knew it already, but that…thing has the ability to play people like his personal puppets."_

_A soft sigh escaped Wolfwood's lips; he paused before going on. The sooner the tale was told, the better. "Legato stuck around to play his last and greatest mind game- he succeeded in making all of you, including myself, think that Chapel had succeeded in killing me. From what I gathered, my body was taken from the church and there was nothing there when you all had found me. It was an illusion. Who took me from the church and brought me back to December beats the hell out of me, but obviously Legato didn't care about the consequences. I don't have a doubt in my mind that he knew it wouldn't be his problem anymore."_

_Vash's expression had darkened in understanding. Of course- why wouldn't Legato find it humorous to play with their heads? The man was a puppet himself- a puppet of Knives, simply doing as he was told. Legato knew he'd get Vash to ultimately bring him to an end, so what harm could come to him from Knives if he didn't really have Wolfwood killed? It would bring grief and torment first, and then confusion should the priest ever find them again, granted that Vash was not killed by his twin brother. _

_"So you woke up in December?" the raven haired insurance woman spoke after a while of silent thought. _

_Shrugging, Wolfwood replied. "Yep, and like I said before, I really don't know how I got there. News traveled fast about Vash being in Demetri, but then again, news about Vash travels fast anyhow.  In any case, I had to come back…I found someone to take care of the orphanage for now, until I finished making amends…until I told you what really happened."*_

…Putting out the cigarette, Wolfwood took his gaze from the cloudless sky and brought it to the sleeping girl in her bed. This was actually Milly's room- he hadn't a dime on him since leaving the orphanage. The big brunette girl stirred, yawned, then sat up groggily, rubbing her blue-green eyes. 

"Good morning, Mr. Priest," she greeted with a half asleep undertone.

"Good morning honey."

*                                                          *                                                          *

Knives took a step outside on his own for the first time in about a week without the support of Vash's shoulder. He hated to admit it, but he'd been too injured before to withstand walking around on his own for too long. His wounds had healed very quickly with care from his brother, and the occasional bowl of soup from the black haired human woman. Knives never wanted to stoop to saying that partial care from a human had aided in his recovery so he simply kept it in his thoughts.

It seemed that most of Demetri was still sleeping- it was early in the morning yet. Vash still slumbered away in their room…in fact it appeared that only Knives and the priest were awake. He knew Wolfwood was up because his reflection in one of the windows was easily seen. A sneer crossed Knives' lips- Wolfwood was not supposed to be alive. Damn that Legato, he was just as bad as the Gung-ho Guns who had failed. 

Thinking about his deceased bandits, Knives smiled grimly. Legato was good for one thing yet, and that was having managed to save the life of one of the original Gung-ho Guns. Midvalley the Horn Freak still lived, far away, safe from knowledge of Vash the Stampede. Not that Vash would intentionally seek out an underling- the bigger worry was right there in Demetri. As long as Knives remained there so would his twin brother. All the better to carry out his plans, granted the newest Gung-ho showed up.

With a smirk, Knives turned his ice blue eyes over the nearly empty streets of town until they came to rest on the well in the square. Two young women conversed there- one wearing a silver skirt, black boots, and a long red coat, and the other in the dark blue and black of a church member's apparel. The blond woman in the red coat pat the other woman on the shoulder and walked off for the small family restaurant and the second woman turned around, her gaze instantly drawn to Knives. 

"Like a moth to the flame," Knives murmured smugly, taking a step off the porch of the motel. There she was- the new Gung-ho Gun and the new reliance of his plans, the Arrow Goddess, Artemis Fawn. 


	14. Author's Note and Part Fourteen

**Author's Note** Ok! It's been a day or so from my last update, so to make sure this story keeps on going, I'm just going to thank my reviewers collectively rather than one by one. So…THANK YOU!! For the wonderful reviews! It's very much appreciated, and I'm really glad you're enjoying the story so far. Stick with me- there's still a ways to go! J  (Ok, one person I WILL thank alone- Konig, you are a big help! That long review made my day…err, night, heh, and I'm really, really, REALLY glad that you put that much thought into it. I try my best- just because it is a fan-fiction doesn't mean I should slack when it comes to story development and whatnot. I think I might use some of those suggestions- they might just help me out in the plotline. Though…I have to ask you, ALL of you…would it be horrendously wrong of Knives to actually change as Vash wanted him to? *sighs*). 

Disclaimers:  I do not own Trigun or any of the Trigun characters, nor am I affiliated with them or the Production Company, creator, or directors in any way. (Though it would be pretty cool!).

Claimers: All newly introduced characters are owned or co-owned by me, including Artemis Fawn, Gemini Mimic, and Lily. ^__^

**~Under the Sky so Blue: Aftermath~**

****

**Part Fourteen**

****

****

            Artemis leaned against the well speaking quietly with Lily, noticing a young blond man stepping out from the motel some way down the road. She hardly gave him a second glance, or a second thought as the two conversed. There were more important matters at hand to think about rather than pay attention to some easy on the eyes type of guy. 

            "So you think that Vash the Stampede could possibly be in this town?" Artemis inquired to her blond friend who was pulling up a bucket of water from the well. 

            "Definitely," Lily replied with a nod, placing the bucket on the edge of the well and turned her blue eyes to the red-head. "I've heard people saying he's staying here, people on the road on my way to this town said it too.  Why? Are you looking for him?"

            The priestess leaned against the stone well, crossing her arms. "I'm not looking for Vash, no, but I am searching for someone who is bound to be here if the so called legendary gunman is. I must be in the right place then…I just wonder…"

            "Whoa, wait! Who are you looking for?" the second woman put a hand on Artemis' shoulder. "Tell me who it is."

            "I can't really tell you why or who right now, I'm sorry. Maybe that'll change after we've met."

            Swinging out her arms in mild frustration with her friend, Lily managed to knock the bucket of water right back down the well, the rope jerking away from the bar and going down with it. 

            "Damn! I'll be back, I have to ask for another bucket…that's the third one in twenty minutes…" the woman sighed and walked toward the family restaurant to ask for another bucket, leaving Artemis alone. 

            As she stood there, a strange feeling of eyes watching her back slowly overwhelmed the young woman. She didn't want to turn around, and yet she imagined the person watching her to be the very same young man standing outside. Why not? He was the only other person out there. Slowly, Artemis turned around to find that her belief was true. The blond man gazed her way steadily and stoically. For an unknown reason, her feet began to move, taking her closer to him until they stood directly across from the other with about five feet between them.

            "Do you have a staring problem?" The red-head snapped sharply, annoyed that she couldn't figure out why she moved from her place by the well.

            The blond man simply blinked, his expression remained unchanging. "I am free to look wherever I please, it was your choice to approach me, woman."

            Arching an eyebrow, Artemis shook her head slowly. Woman? Who did this guy think he was? However, she found she couldn't really argue with him on that- she had no idea why she'd walked over to him and therefore couldn't place blame on him. So naturally she made up an excuse.

            "I came to tell you to quit staring at me."

            "That is not all you are here for." The man replied, unwavering.

            Artemis had the idea that he did not only mean where she stood, but in Demetri in general. He continued.

            "You are searching for one named Vash aren't you? You search for him because when you have found his location, you'll have found the location of your mission. Am I correct?"

            Staring, a little puzzled, the red-headed priestess was speechless for a few moments before it clicked in her mind how this man knew her objective. That night in the bar, when she and Lily spoke, the priest at the edge of town sat with a blond man and two young women at a corner table. The blond man had spiky hair but his face…his face strongly resembled the one she stood before at this moment. Twins…

            "You're Knives, aren't you?" she asked, a little unsure.

            He smirked in amusement, "You ask me with hesitation, woman, are you afraid?"

            Artemis made a face, "No, but I don't like to sound like an idiot making such direct assumptions. So are you or are you not Knives?"

            "I am; you are Artemis Fawn, the Arrow Goddess and newest addition to the Gung-ho Guns. A simple human woman with exceptional skill with a primitive weapon."

            She glowered…her eyes narrowed from the moment he had confirmed who he was and remained so. There was no other way Artemis could bring herself to gaze upon him…she knew the stories about Vash and Knives, she knew who it was who destroyed those towns, who was responsible for it. However…

            "I'm supposed to bring you back, though I'm not sure why you couldn't just fend off for yourself. You appear to be able to walk on your own two feet." She said quietly.

            Knives chuckled ruefully, turning his ice blue gaze to the sky. "It is only all part of a plan…a grand plan, revised from the old one…"

            "Well then why don't we go while there's still nobody around? It's the perfect chance to get started, when everyone is still inside."

            Artemis' eagerness to get back on the road toward the New Gung-ho Guns' hideout proved to cause a bit of suspicion in Knives. He shook his head…if she was not such a vital part of his scheme, he probably would have killed her by now. Already she managed to annoy him. 

            'Stupid human garbage,' he thought with a slight sneer to his lips, which transformed into a sly smile. "You must have misplaced your mind, woman- you are not prepared to leave town at this moment. You have no supplies and you're not even dressed to travel. By the time you are ready, the street will slowly begin to fill with people. It is not the ideal time."

            She hated to admit it, but Knives was right. It would take her too long to gather supplies of food and water, pack, and meet him back here before there were people out on the road. Huffing heavily, Artemis nodded and clenched her hands into fists then spoke.

            "Would it be better to meet tomorrow morning then, earlier?"

            Knives had no intention of leaving Demetri just yet. This quaint town was where he wanted the first reign of destruction to begin again.  Let the others rebuild their towns…if there were any survivors left, anyhow, and then Knives would crush them all over again. He smiled grimly…this time he'd do it personally; forget using his incompetent and emotional brother, that fool only muddled things more.

            "No. I will say when it is time to leave Demetri. Until then I suggest that you remain in town and enjoy it while you still can, woman." 

            "But…"

            "…That is how it will work, otherwise I can end whatever your agreements were and I warn you, it won't be a pretty sight." Knives cut her off with a sharp glare. He didn't like being contradicted…ever.

            Defeated for the moment, Artemis reluctantly agreed. She wanted to leave town as soon as possible- she had other things to do beside wait around doing nothing and spending time with Lily. She didn't even know how long Lily intended on staying in Demetri. 

            "Fine, agreed." She nodded, turning to head back to the well. Lily's form was already moving from the restaurant.

            As Artemis walked away, Knives watched briefly then turned, slightly startled to find Vash standing in the doorway, aqua green eyes curious. Knives usually was not one to be taken by surprise, but he silently hoped that his brother hadn't heard a word of the recent conversation. 

            "Good morning brother- I trust you slept well." The greeting was monotonous.

            Vash smiled faintly, "Who was that girl? She was kind of cute…what did she agree to Knives? Hey, are you going on a date?"

            "Enough questions Vash, don't be foolish…" Knives trailed off, pushing past his twin brother and moved back into the motel. 

            Vash stretched, glancing at his brother then turned his gaze to the street. It was still empty and the red headed girl had gone off somewhere with that other one by the well. He shrugged but couldn't help thinking there was something strange going on. Knives was not one to talk to humans, and Vash didn't think he'd be so inclined to start mixing with them so soon…something was up.


	15. Author's Note and Part Fifteen

**Author's Note** Hey!! I thought it was time for another chapter to be put up. I've been struggling with a smidgen of Writer's Block, so bear with me if things seem to be going slow or something isn't quite right in wording. I'm doing my best. J

Tempest Strife- For some reason I didn't think Wolfwood was a "real" priest, at least not a Catholic one, seeing as how he's got this thing for Milly. I'd do stuff that referred back to the Manga except I have one problem…I've never read the Manga because I can't find it anywhere. When I've read it and have a better understanding then I will use manga references, but until then I'm going strictly by the anime and my imagination.

Static Buffy- You're not the only one…I can't see it either. And thanks! I like Artemis too! (PS…would people hurt me if this kinda got romantic? Just a little? It's all for a reason *sighs*).

Disclaimers: I do not own the title or any characters of Trigun, nor am I affiliated with them or the creators in any way. 

Claimers: All original characters like Artemis, Lily, and Gemini (and some to come) belong to me or are co-owned. 

~Under the Sky so Blue: Aftermath~

Part Fifteen

            _"Not everybody is like him…nobody is perfect Knives, including you and me…"_

            Knives closed his eyes, scowling. He and Vash were perfect beings, superior in every way- how dare his brother suggest they weren't? They weren't humans, they were plants, powerful beings. 

            _"Not everybody is like him…"_ Vash's soft statement echoed in Knives' head from the moment he made it. Anyone else would have had no clue of whom he spoke…but Knives knew. Steve- that rotten excuse for anything living…he tormented Knives and Vash on that ship, he hated them and didn't care to hide the fact. He hurt them, emotionally and physically. Perhaps even mentally.

            Knives battled with the thought in his mind. Not everybody was like Steve? His brother must be blind. Everywhere he looked people fought over food, water, land…they wore emotions on their sleeves. How could Vash stand to live that way, it was disgusting. Vash had always been something of a baby but still, he was grown, older than anyone on the planet next to Knives, and insisted on acting the same as ever. 

            His twin forced him to mingle with the humans in Demetri…he made him talk with them, touch them, eat with them. The insurance girls weren't too horrible-Knives learned to get used to them, though the big, cheery human girl always managed to annoy him after only a few minutes. He would not harm them when it came down to it. Vash was his brother and it was evident that those two truly meant something to him, just as Rem did and still did. Rem was foolish to end her own life and start the spiral of pain Vash felt, but Knives hadn't meant for her to die. He tried to save her for his brother…he would not admit it out loud…in some way sparing the lives of those strange women was something of a gift. 

            _"Do you think you could ever live with them in peace?"_

            _Damn_ that voice! Damn these _incessant_ questions! He tried to muffle them out. Humans did not deserve the Eden Knives wanted. They would only kill it as quickly as they destroyed their first home. The two women would mean nothing- they would die and Vash and Knives would live on. Two women living while the rest of humankind was wiped out was just a minor detail- they could do nothing to destroy the beauty that Knives would try to create. 

            Several times within the past two weeks Knives met with Artemis Fawn…he filled her in on some details of his plan. She knew he wanted an Eden…she knew eventually her own life would end once he was through using her and the others. And still she seemed determined to help him achieve his goal. Knives knew not if he ought to give her mild respect for it or if he should think her as stupid and insufficient as the others. He settled on tolerating her but kept it in his mind to end her life as painlessly as possible. That would be his only gift to her for helping. He thought it rather generous.

            Suspicion arose from Vash and Wolfwood, however, about Knives' meetings with this red-haired human girl. They began to think that there was something awry and Knives, though not panicked, figured he had better come up with an excuse to be seen with a human. He thought perhaps it was time to start his act. He would pretend from then on 'til their leave from Demetri that the townspeople were tolerable. It turned his stomach, yes, but he would have to do it for anything to work out. 

            Knives began the act just the day before, making it appear in very small almost unnoticeable bits. He held the door open for an elderly man…he smiled briefly at a child who had run up to retrieve a ball…such small things of course didn't go unnoticed after all. Vash was watching…he was always watching him. The faint smile and glimmer of hope almost made Knives feel guilty for duping Vash, but not quite. It was only a ruse. That morning Knives showed courtesy to Meryl and Milly, referring to them by name. It nearly made him laugh out loud at the shocked expressions on their faces. Their hope was tangible and yet he held all the cards. 

His steps now led him toward the saloon, a place where Knives found he would be left alone if he so desired it. It might have been because everyone knew who he was related to. Vash had quite a reputation and did next to nothing when it came to earning it. Knives was probably to blame yet he cared not. When his brother refused to join him in his escapade, Knives vowed to make his life miserable until his mind was changed. He knew now it wasn't likely…but killing Vash was no longer an option. The realization of spending a life on Eden absolutely alone wasn't very inviting. 

            The red wine rolled over Knives' tongue as his ice blue eyes moved across the bar to find the familiar flash of red hair seated beside the blond woman. She was always around, which irked him close to boiling point, and yet there was something about her Knives just could not place. He had seen the way both of them acted at times- loud, foolish, drunk even- and this was usually unacceptable. In a way the blond woman reminded him of his idiot brother. It must have been the red coat.

            His eyes were soon noticed, for the pair of blue-green ones belonging to Artemis quickly turned to meet his cool gaze. Her eyes slightly narrowed as Knives nodded for her to join him at his table and she reluctantly complied. Artemis was in full costume that day, the cross cuff links gleamed in the small shaft of sunlight filtering through the slightly dusty windows. She sat down across from Knives and sighed heavily.

            "Have you decided when you want to leave yet Knives? I'm really getting tired of staying here."

            "It's very rude that you greeted me without a hello first…and I have not decided it is time for us to leave just yet. I've yet to get Vash to trust me completely. It is only then that I will be allowed to leave without him searching for me right away. Surely your simple mind can comprehend."

            The priestess clenched her teeth. Knives smiled slyly- was she getting angry? So quick to be angered, her temper is as red as her hair, he thought dryly. 

            "Then speed up your act, Knives, because the more we meet and speak in sidebars the more suspicious your brother will get. He might act like a fool but I know damn well he's not an idiot."

            "If I do that, misgivings will increase ten-fold, woman," Knives sneered, leaning over the table. 

            Artemis leaned over the table as well, fire in her eyes. "If you call me that again I'll leave Demetri and you'll be on your own, understand?"

            Knives narrowed his eyebrows, ice blue eyes growing sharp, "I will call you whatever I choose to."

            "Then you choose to finish your plan alone." Artemis replied haughtily, moving to stand. 

            A hand on her wrist and a tight grip stopped her. She winced and jerked her gaze to him, noticing Lily turning as well to see what was going on. Knives looked between them and then settled his gaze on the priestess. It bothered him, having to stoop down to a human wench's demands, but he supposed it wasn't that big of a request. The damn girl was needed after all. He didn't have to play his ruse on her when Vash and the others weren't around but they were slowly receiving the attention of the townspeople. 

            "Fine…I will refrain from calling you so from now on," he said through clenched teeth.

            It was at that moment that Vash moved through the door of the saloon with Wolfwood at his side.  Naturally they sought out Knives and found him, leaning over the table and holding the red-head's arm.  The pale blond man let out a muffled groan as he knew exactly what their surprised expressions meant. Slowly Knives released Artemis' wrist and feigned a faint smile to her before she moved back to the bar, then looked to Vash and Wolfwood as they took her place.

            "Human garbage huh?" Wolfwood muttered with a raised eyebrow. "So that's what's with all the secret meetings."

            Vash smiled, ordered a plate of doughnuts from the table, then stared in silence to Knives for a long while until his twin couldn't take it anymore.

            "Would you say something, brother, or stop staring you're making me feel very uncomfortable."

            "It's nothing really…I'm just glad to see you're trying, Knives. I hope you'll see it the way it should be soon. Making friends is a good way to start. By the way- can I meet her? She's really cute! And so is her friend," he turned to ogle Artemis and Lily at the bar with a goofy grin. 

            Wolfwood smacked Vash in the back of the head promptly before looking at the girls as well. He didn't really care for other girls, though he wouldn't deny they were pretty- he had his own girl. Though there was something about them…the priest blinked and saw a flash of silver-white. A cross cuff-link? The red-headed girl whispered something to the blond and they both laughed before he caught a good look at her face. She seemed familiar…he'd think that after two weeks she wouldn't look like she didn't belong there. Red hair…green-blue eyes…freckles. Why was she so familiar to him?

            "If you'll excuse me," Wolfwood frowned, standing up as Vash's doughnuts were delivered. 

            Knives suppressed a yell as he watched the priest approach Artemis. That stupid man had better not ruin it for him…but calling out to stop him would be ruining it all on his own. With a heavy sigh, Knives accepted a doughnut from Vash, held it in his hand, and turned his eyes toward the window. _Damn._


	16. Part Sixteen

**Author's Note** I'm trying to get these stories on a roll here so I can work on some of my original fiction (which can be found at www.fictionpress.net under the same penname. Please do go and read it, you're bound to find something you like there J). I'm loving the encouragement I'm getting from all of you *huggles all tightly* it's really helping me a lot.

Static Buffy- Ah…well I can imagine his parts will still work with a human girl if you know what I mean. There just might be slight alteration in DNA is all…meaning that the child would only be half human half..plant. I think it could work, really. Though, truly, I can't see Vash being a Daddy…that's kinda freaky.

AnonymousTrigunOtaku- It does help a little bit, but as I said…I'd much rather rely on my own knowledge of the anime right now…I'm just a bit afraid I'll muddle something up from the manga by going on another person's synopsis, ya know? But thank you for explaining that to me. J

Disclaimers: I do not own Trigun or any of the original Trigun characters, nor am I affiliated with Trigun in any way besides the fact that I am a huge fan. 

Claimers: Original (NON-Mary Sue) characters such as Artemis Fawn, Lily, and Gemini Mimic belong to me or are co-owned, such will be the same for any other added character. 

*Knives ambles in, arms crossed, ice blue eyes piercing, eyebrows arched. Hmm, doesn't look too happy does he? Let's find out why…*

"Knives, dear, you look upset."

"I _am upset and don't you call me __dear you foolish human!"_

*Blinks* "Well pardon me…what seems to be the source of your difficulties?"

*Growls lightly…* "You are, blasted woman! Why are you writing in this idiot woman with the red hair? She annoys me so, she's a waste of air!"

"Err…have you forgotten that you need her for your plan?"

"Plan? What plan?"

*Tsk, tsk* "Knives…your plan to escape Demetri of course!"

*Blinks, looks around a bit then back to me* "I have a plan to leave Demetri?"

"Yes…don't tell me you don't remember it…you need Artemis, got that? And you'd better watch your insults buddy- I don't care how pretty you are, they won't fly with me, got it? I can write you dead in a matter of pages so watch your back…Mr. Superior."

*Looks…afraid?* "Of course I remember don't be stupid! Now..please don't write me dead and get on with the story…"

*Watches as Knives stalks away* "That was interesting…now…the rest of the story."

(At least the rest of this chapter! J)

~Under the Sky so Blue: Aftermath~

Part Sixteen

            Knives looked on hating the feeling of helplessness as Wolfwood spoke with Artemis and the blond woman at the bar. He didn't need that man meddling, and if he knew the priestess there might be more difficulty than Knives had expected. Silently he cursed Legato and his twisted sense of humor. Why did he let the priest live? Now it was just another pest to be rid of, one that should have been squashed in the first place. 

            The expression on Knives' face must have contorted into one of anger because Vash glanced up from the doughnuts, concerned. 

            "Knives are you alright? You look kind of mad about something."

            "It's nothing that concerns you," came the heated reply from the pale blond man. At this moment that was the truth. 

            Vash followed his brother's icy blue gaze toward the bar and slowly grinned, making a connection between his eyes and expression. Of course it was the _wrong_ connection, but leave it to Vash to have higher hopes than need be. 

            "Wolfwood isn't going to steal her away from you, he's just talking- besides he has Milly to worry about, he doesn't need another girl."

            "That hu…wom…" Knives stammered slightly.  He couldn't back out of his act and couldn't have Artemis overhearing either. "She isn't a possession for someone to steal, dear brother, and I am not worried.  Have I ever truly worried about anything anyhow?"

            The intense gaze on his twin's face made Vash blink then stare for a long while. Knives met his brother's aqua green eyes steadily and sighed softly. He knew what that spiky haired moron was thinking. No longer was Vash suspicious of Knives being conniving, but he was suspicious of a secret relationship. It was nearly enough to make the pale blond man want to retch, but something made the corner of his lips tug into a slight smile. That might not be such a bad idea after all. 

            A "secret" relationship could be the escape Knives needed to avoid the constant watchfulness of Vash and his…friends. It seemed plausible enough; at least it would explain why Artemis was almost always seen with the pale blond. The priestess would go along with it, especially if she wanted to leave Demetri any time soon.

            "I know what you are thinking, brother…" Knives spoke with a smirk. 

            Vash raised his eyebrows, "That doesn't surprise me, but I'm not sure how to respond to that. Knives…I thought you couldn't stand people."

            _'Could it be he's actually learning to get along with them? Am I doing it right, Rem? Am I taking care of my brother at last? Can I make him see…?'_ Vash thought in the deepest register of his mind, keeping it safe from his brother's own mind. Hope welled up in him- he almost thought he'd cry.

            "I still believe the human race will amount to nothing…they have proved it before and will prove so again. However, I am learning to live with them. Which is why I must tell you that we are no longer sharing a room, brother."

            "Huh?" Vash blinked then frowned. "What do you mean? Why not? Are you kicking me out?"

            Knives retained the smirk, "You could say that. I think it is time that I have my privacy. I've proved so far that I can live here without hurting anyone, haven't I? Don't I at least deserve my own room, Vash?"

            The spiky haired blond man was on the fence about it. He didn't want to leave Knives housed in a room alone, but he also didn't want to show mistrust. Knives had a point- he'd shown changes, though gradual, and they appeared to be for the better. There must have been something about that red-headed woman with the freckles that was making his brother change his mind. Vash grinned widely.

            "I guess I can bunk up with Wolfwood, or even Meryl, or just get my own room if I really need to…but why are you kicking me out? Your own brother!" 

            Knives said nothing, turning his gaze to Artemis with implication, then back to his brother. He smiled lightly as Vash figured out what his twin was inferring to about the girl and watched with mild concern as the man burst out in hysterical laughter, tears streaming down his cheeks. 

            _'He's gone insane,'_ Knives said silently, then stood up from the table. He'd do well to inform Artemis of their newly formed "blossoming relationship" as part of his ruse. She would not take it well, he imagined, but hell, he didn't much want to do it either. Sacrifices had to be made on both parts. 

            Leaving the pathetic form of Vash bawling with happiness, Knives moved to the bar, remembering to plaster on his phony newfound slight amiability, and placed a gloved hand on Artemis' shoulder. The touch was very, very light.  Even though his hands were gloved, the thought of touching a human repulsed him. 

            "Come with me," he said lowly, eyes dancing toward Wolfwood for a moment.  The ice blue gleamed with heat briefly before a faint smile played on Knives' lips. "Pardon us…please." 

            _Ugh! Saying please to these humans…touching the girl was enough trouble…remember your sacrifices Knives, it is all for the best. Think of what will be accomplished in the long run. __Eden__…_

            Artemis clenched her teeth, not at all looking as pleased as he felt about his hand on her shoulder, then smiled sweetly to Wolfwood. She stood, Knives' hand falling from her shoulder, and leaned forward to wrap her arms around the priest tightly.

            "It is so good to see you again," she murmured before drawing away, "I'll see you around town, Wolf-boy." 

            The priest smiled, "Likewise, kiddo." 

            The blond woman at the bar arched an eyebrow, seemingly having followed the conversation between the two. "I don't think you should've called her that, she hates that ya know. You're lucky that your head is screwed on."

            Wolfwood chuckled as Artemis walked away with Knives, "We go way back- she won't do a thing to hurt me.  I knew there was something familiar about her…"

            …The voices faded away as Knives led Artemis toward the well in the middle of town then turned to look down upon her, arms crossed. He took on the look of a superior being quite well, despite the…plain human clothing he had to wear. His blue eyes stared hard at the young woman for some time before she finally snapped.

            "Did you bring me outside to stare at me like I'm a speck of dust, or did you have an actual reason?"

            Knives cleared his throat. "You're staying with me until we leave."

            Artemis tilted her head, blue-green eyes widening a little. "Come again?"

            "You will reside in my quarters until it is time to leave Demetri. My brother and his pathetic friend believe there is a relationship between the two of us, and as much as I despise the idea, it is a plausible reason to be seen with you."

            "Relationship?!" she squeaked, hands clenching into fists. Artemis was about to blow her top. "If you think for two seconds that I'm going to be seen parading around town with you as though I actually…"

            "…Quiet!" Knives swiftly had his hand cupping her chin, which from far away might have appeared like a gentle touch, but in fact it was like a death grip. He leaned his head down, narrowing his eyes, "Do not think that I will actually enjoy it, but if it makes them less wary then so be it. Think about it- you will reside in my room and it will allow more time to plan the destruction of this pitiful town as well as the others.  The faster we come up with it, the faster we can do it and leave, understand?"

            Artemis felt fear grip her heart. Not because of Knives' hand holding her chin in place, but because of what he had just told her. The destruction of Demetri was never mentioned before. Her gaze held onto his, both as harsh as the other's, and she sighed heavily. She would think of something later, but for now she had no choice but to agree with him. The faster Knives was out of Demetri, the quicker her job would be over with. 

            "Fine, now let me go!" She hissed and he released her. Her fingers rubbed her sore jaw and she turned her eyes from him. Wait until Lily found out that Artemis was rooming with an egotistical power-hungry man…she'd never hear the end of it.

            Knives turned to walk away but stopped mid-stride. "Curious…"

            "What is?" She muttered, smoothing down her dark blue jacket. 

            "You embraced Wolfwood.  Do you know him?"

            Artemis paused then nodded slowly. "From my childhood, yes. It's none of your concern, and I won't tell him anything.  That was the past, this is the present, and you plan the future." She could feel that Knives had reason to believe she might warn Wolfwood.

            He smirked. "Glad you see it my way.  I will see you in my quarters no later than eight o'clock tonight."


	17. Part Seventeen

**Author's Note** Yay! Another chapter is coming, another chapter is coming! It's all the lovely reviews I'm getting that makes me keep going! (That and certain folk breathing down my neck and threatening things, but we won't get into too much detail there hehe…).

Purple Vix- Yeah, Knives is very conniving, I know, but hey, I still love him! *grins* How else can he get anything done? Oh umm..hey…could I have Vash back? I kinda need him for the story…

Jess Perry- I love leaving those little loose ends at the end of the chapter, only because it makes people wonder what's going to happen next, or where the story will go because of those possibilities. Yep! I'm an Elfwood artist. I hope you like the stuff that I've got, and hey, hope you like it there too! Please, comment a lot and visit frequently- and let me know when your gallery is up! J

*Vash toddles up from his escape from Purple Vix and taps my shoulder* "Um, pardon me Miss Author Lady, but would it be too much to ask to write Knives a little bit nicer?"

"Huh? Write him nicer? But that'd be going way out of his true context!"

"Um, yeah but, he's my brother, and I told Rem I would take care of him but…I think he's mean to people behind my back, so could you please write him nicer?" *blinks*

"Um…Vash…?"

"Yes?"

"It's just a story…"

"I know…and in a story you can do stuff like that, right?"

*Nods slowly* "Yes, but…"

"Aw, but what?! I'll share my donuts with you, come on Miss Author Lady, please, please, please?! I just want a nice brother for once!"

"Vash…"

"Please?! …Huh? What?"

"Keep your donuts…besides, in this story, you DO think Knives is starting to be nice…relax would you, you're gonna make me say too much…you've done enough already!"

*Grins sheepishly and blushes* "Oh…gee…I forgot, I'm sorry…umm…here, have a donut as a consolation for my ignorance. Have a good evening Miss Author Lady!" *saunters off*

"Vash! Where are you going?!"

"To the potty sir! Err…I mean ma'am!"

*Widens eyes* "But I need you for this chapter! Va-a-ash!" *takes off after him*

Disclaimers: I do not own the characters or the title Trigun, nor am I affiliated with them or the creators in any way. (Darn!)  Claimers: Artemis, Lily, and Gemini are all owned or co-owned original characters!

**~Under the Sky so Blue: Aftermath~**

**Part Seventeen**

            Vash had moved his things into Wolfwood's room- not that there were very many things to move there, and sat down on the edge of the second bed with a sigh. He was happy that Knives was starting to show some change, that he was beginning to maybe accept living amongst humans as an equal, but…well he never imagined his brother being so taken with a human so soon. There must have been something about that cute red head that Knives liked aboutr to make him kick Vash out of their room for the girl to stay there.

            It'd been about a week since the spiky blond was thrown out of the same living quarters as his slightly older twin brother replaced him for the priestess and Vash wondered still about the unlikely pair. Naturally Wolfwood was prone to thinking that Knives had something up his sleeves- but Vash seemed to refuse to believe it. He wanted to think that his brother was finally changing, that Knives slowly awakened to the fact that everyone could live on the planet in peace. 

            _"It's just not in his nature, Vash- Knives isn't going to change."_

_            Vash sighed, refusing to hear his priest friend's words. "Haven't you seen how he's acting now? He's even calling the insurance girls by name- he's learning Wolfwood, I think he can do it."_

_            The ebony haired priest retorted, "That's what he wants us to think. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt though…I'd just keep an eye on him, that's all."_

_            Slightly narrowing his eyes, Vash had turned away, murmuring. "We have to trust him…I have to trust him…for Rem. You didn't know him 130 years ago…he can be the Knives he once was."_

_            Without another word spoken between them, Vash left the room to stand outside on the wooden deck of the motel._

The legendary ace gunman leaned against a wooden pole, ignoring the black cat at his feet who stared up at him with large green eyes and a vicious cat-grin. Knives had gone to the general store for something and was just now returning, looking miffed. Tentatively, Vash raised a hand in greeting.

            "Hey Knives, did you get everything you needed?"

            Knives clutched the bag tightly, seeming to glare for a moment before a faint smile tugged at his lips. Inside the man was screaming- wanting to lash out at how embarrassing it was to have to mingle with these humans, but outside he remained level headed.

            "All but a few things, dear brother…they could be a little more organized."

            Vash smiled, "The girls are waiting for their ingredients- I hope they can still fix dinner without some of the stuff…and soon. I'm starving!"

            "That's something that hasn't changed about you- your appetite is still insatiable." Knives replied, taking the bag inside the motel toward the motel room complete with a kitchen. 

            The blond spiky haired man remained outside gazing at the sky which was dappled with indigo and would soon be inky and decorated with innumerable silver stars complete with the two moons. He smiled faintly- it would be a beautiful night and he only wished that Rem was there to share it with. But then…Rem could probably already see it, she could see the entire sky, limitless, and there perched upon her smiling dreams she's sing her song. Vash could almost hear the sweet voice's melody caressing his face as a faint smile tugged at his lips. He remembered Meryl had sung the song too, with him, just a little while before. In some ways she reminded him of Rem…but she had brutal ways of reminding him that Meryl would never be his and Knives' caretaker. He rubbed a sore spot on his shoulder from a recent Meryl-bashing and shook his head.

            As he turned he could see through the window of what used to be his and Knives' room. The red-headed figure of Artemis sat on Vash's bed, fiddling with something that looked like a newspaper in her hands, and looked slightly upset. He almost went to the window and knocked on it to ask her if she was alright, but memories of a scolding from the last time he hung around a girl's window made him decide against it. Vash was still curious as to what was between his brother and this priestess. He was curious as to the connection between the priestess and Wolfwood at that- he knew there was one because of the way they talked to each other. They always cracked jokes, kidding around as though they had known each other forever. Around Knives, though, Artemis was… different. 

            The priestess acted as though she walked on egg-shells around Knives. Vash guessed his brother just emanated that air of superiority even when he tried to shed it. As if answering his thoughts, Knives entered the room and Vash couldn't look away. He just hoped they didn't do something he didn't want to witness. Knives paced the room, lips moving, head down- Vash couldn't understand anything he said, nor could he hear him. Artemis nodded a few times but said nothing and Knives left her alone again. 

            "Well…that was interesting."

            "Are you peeking through that girl's window Vash?!" Meryl's voice flew at him like a bat out of hell, causing the tall man to jump and careen over the rail of the deck, landing hard on his backside.

            He whimpered lightly, "Eh…I wasn't doing anything I swear! Why did you scare me like that, I didn't even hear you come up behind me!"

            Meryl put her hands on her hips and shook her head. She almost felt a wave of jealousy sweep over her small form, thinking Vash had been watching Artemis undressing or something of the like. "You didn't hear me because you were too busy ogling!"

            "But I…I…" Vash stood up and dusted off his trousers, "Knives was in there- don't you think she acts kind of funny around him?"

            The insurance girl crossed her arms, "You don't want me to answer that Vash. Supper is ready, I guess you should come inside and eat before it's all gone." She huffed and went back inside the motel.

            Vash rubbed behind his neck, "Wow…sca-ary…"

            *                                                          *                                                          *

            Artemis flipped the newspaper onto the bed and shut her eyes. This was taking much longer than she'd expected it to. For sure Midvalley and whatever others he'd gathered up would wonder why three weeks had passed without so much as a word from the priestess or Knives. She couldn't risk sending mail to them…the phrase "Don't shoot the messenger" wouldn't apply to the poor sap stuck delivering the letter. It wasn't as though she planned on actually going back to that puzzle-pieced saloon anyhow- even so, they had to think she was. 

            The door opened suddenly and Knives walked in briskly, standing in front of her though some feet away. She clenched her teeth. The site of him made her sick- she imagined she felt the same about him as he felt about the human race, though perhaps for different reasons altogether. 

            "What do you want?" she muttered softly, her lips barely moving, blue-green eyes trained on him. She didn't dare look away- being caught off-guard by someone like Knives was a huge mistake. 

            The pale blonde crossed his arms and narrowed his eyebrows. "Watch your tone with me- I am not one of your disgusting friends that you can so freely speak to. I came in to get something but thought I would tell you that our meal is ready; they're waiting for us at the table. It would be wise to put on a game face and do as I do and at least pretend that we can stand each other, otherwise this is not going to work."

            Without another word he turned sharply and walked out the door. Artemis briefly wondered why he hadn't taken whatever he had come in the room to retrieve, yet the moment passed and her eyes traveled to the heading of the newspaper clipping on her bed. She shook her head, hating to have to go along with this charade. It wasn't her idea, but if that's what it took to get the hell out of Demetri any faster, Artemis would have to do it. Her fingers trailed over the clipping once as she stood and moved for the door.

            'Soon,' she thought, 'very soon.'

**Additional Author's Note**

In response to Konig-

In regards to Artemis, I do have my reasons for not revealing her motives just yet, though I will start hinting towards them (as I already have). You'll just have to wait and see what happens- this just happens to be my preferred style of writing. 

As for Wolfwood…I don't think I'll make an implication as to what sort of priest he is. To me, he's always just been Wolfwood- a man of God yes, a man with some morals, yes again- but he is also someone who is free to love whom he chooses to love and so I will leave his sect up to your imagination. You may believe what you wish about him.

When it comes to Knives I think we truly have different opinions and for this I'm sorry (or am I?) to report that I will continue the story the way I have planned it. This isn't all off the top of my head; I know exactly where I'm heading with this though I will agree on some views about Knives. True- he shows imperfections merely by sacrificing his own kind as he slaughters the humans and yes, he has held his beliefs for 130 years, but there was a time when he was not like the way he is now. I have to say I think with the right ingredients he can shed some light on the matter of co-existing with humans. However, that's all I'll say about that because I don't want to give up too much of my plot. 

As always, your reviews are appreciated, and unless people are honest I'll never know what they think of my work. When it comes to changing things in my story however, this is my view-

A writer, first and foremost, should write for his or her self. I will accept the fact that some people will like or love my stories, some will hate it, and others will just be indifferent and just simply recognize good writing. 


	18. Part Eighteen

** Author's Note** I know! I'm neglecting my duties as an author to keep this story updated, so here!! Right after my replies to my lovely readers is the next part of Under the Sky so Blue: Aftermath. 

Anon.: I agree with you *nods head* I really do. I'm not a fan of those stories either, so hey, you at least know that much, right? 

Kimi no Vanilla: Thanks! I think you'll like how this story goes then…

Vertically Challenged: Sure you can tell me! ^_^ It's nice to be loved! And I'm going to do just that- the writing the way I planned it out. The secrets of Artemis Fawn will soon be revealed, so..just a little while longer!

Jess Perry: You're turning out to be quite the avid reader! You're everywhere! I love that! I thought it was time to put in a little bit more description though I mean yeah we know what Gunsmoke looks like and we know what the characters look like, but even so…it's nice to have a refreshed memory hm? Hehe. I was a teensy bit miffed, but I get over stuff quickly so no worries. (In some ways I wonder if I'm like Milly…or Vash…heh). 

*Vash comes running up* Miss Author Lady!!! Miss Author Lady!!!

Ai… yes Vash, what is it?

*Vash grins and hugs tightly* You're writing again, I'm so glad! And nobody stole me this time!

Err…heh *returns the hug* This is true, yes, but I really should get to writing, which means you should get back to the story, Mister.

*Vash shakes his head* But I wanna stay and watch you write!

Vash! You can't be in two places at once…now go, ok, you can come visit me later. I promise.

*Vash pouts* You're getting mean like Meryl!

*gasps* What?! Gah, needle-noggin you don't know mean! I was going to have donuts waiting…

*Vash blinks* Really? For me?

Yep…but since you think I'm so mean…agh!

*Vash clings and cries waterfall tears* I LOVE YOU MISS AUTHOR LADY!!!!

God Vash you're such a baby!

*Vash* Rem used to say the same thing…

Uh-huh, I know…so can you let me go so I can write?

*Vash* Yeah I guess so. See ya later Miss Author Lady!

*laughs* Bye Vash…man…that guy…*shakes head* He's lucky he's so cute, aren't I right girls? ;)

Disclaimers: I do not own any of the character or the title from Trigun nor am I affiliated with them in any way. 

Claimer: I own or co-own the new characters such as Artemis Fawn, Lily, Gemini Mimic, and any other up and coming characters.

**~Under the Sky so Blue: Aftermath~**

****

**Part Eighteen**

****

"Do we have anymore pudding, Meryl?"

            "There should be one more can in the cabinet, or did you check there already?"

            "I didn't see it. I'll just check again…I was so hoping for some pud…AHA! I found it!"

            "See, I told you it was there, you just didn't look hard enough."

            "Sorry Meryl…we'll have to get some more you know…"

            Knives listened to the Insurance girls' conversation through the cheap thin walls of the motel. Their room was on the right side of his and their chatter was keeping him awake. Despite this he didn't get up and tell them to quiet down; he had to stay awake anyhow. It was much past the eight o'clock curfew he had set for Artemis and she was very, very late. Knives wasn't worried, but he was growing angry and annoyed with each passing minute that the door didn't open and carry her inside the room. She had never stayed out so late before but he knew she hadn't skipped town- he kept close enough tabs to know exactly where the red-head was. He sighed heavily- there was still work to be done.

            "Agh! What're you doin' needle-noggin?!"

            "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm taking a pillow!"

            "That's _my pillow, though!"_

            "But I don't have one!"

            "Well if you take mine what am _I gonna use?!"_

            In the room on the left of Knives, Wolfwood and Vash argued profusely. Knives smiled wryly as he could hear them wrestling across the floor over such an insignificant object. After a few minutes of listening to the skirmish, the pale blond man grew restless and rose from the bed to move to the window. 

            The night had become pitch black. The wind threw loose sand from the packed road, whipping it wildly into the air, vanishing into the night sky. There were a few stragglers around the well towards the middle of town but otherwise the streets appeared empty. Everyone either remained at home or had gone to the saloon for a late night drink. Knives knew that was exactly where his adversary was. 

            "Stupid woman," he muttered lowly, crossing his arms to take on a pose of superiority. Then, realizing there was nobody else around to see this stature, he dropped his arms to his sides. 

            "Doesn't she know she's only making her stay here longer? So keen on leaving quickly, and yet she goes out and neglects the more important matters at hand. What a wretched…insolent…disobedient human!"

            Knives swiftly kicked the wall, causing the window frame to shake momentarily before settling again. It didn't take long before he decided he'd have to go an fetch her from the saloon as a dog would fetch a bone, and he'd drag her back screaming if it came down to it. No…no he'd better not drag her out- it would tarnish the _fine impression he was making among the townsfolk. Nevertheless, he needed her there.  Sure he could plan alone but there was a reason that Artemis was in Demetri…unlike the other Gung-ho Guns, though, this one was not at Knives' every beck and call. It annoyed him and yet made him wonder why._

            He pressed his forehead against the glass of the window to try and get a better look down the road. Someone had just gotten thrown out of the saloon but it was not Artemis, nor was it that strange blond female version of his brother. Knives grunted shortly at the thought of the woman in the red coat. It was people like her who had made Vash turn out the way he did. A plant born of free will shouldn't behave like an ordinary being. Vash and Knives were _not_ ordinary beings…

            Sick of being redundant on the subject of his brother, Knives turned from the window and let his gaze fall to Artemis' neatly made bed. On top of the taut blankets lay her steel bow and bullet tipped arrows tightly packed inside a fine leather quiver. She always left her weapon behind when she went into town- it was almost never on her. Knives snorted indignantly; just because he wasn't yet at large again it didn't mean there were no criminals. This woman had to either be stupidly foolish or stupidly courageous. 

            Before Knives left the room, though, something else caught his attention. A piece of paper stuck out from beneath two pillows- (Artemis had one extra and as a side thought, Knives guessed it was why Vash didn't have one on his bed).  Curious, Knives pulled it from under the fluff and saw it was part of an old newspaper. The headline read "Strange Vanishings in Southern Cornelia", and showed several pictures of the empty towns. 

            "Why does she have this?" He murmured to nobody, arching an eyebrow, eyes growing sharp. It was strange that he never noticed it before. They'd been staying in the same room for nigh onto a month now and never before had Knives seen this newspaper clipping. Evidently it had been there the entire time because it was so old. He did not get angry but he would be demanding to know why she held onto such an item. 

            Letting it flutter onto the bedspread, not even bothering to hide it, Knives strode out of the room, out of the hotel, and proceeded down the road without a faltering step. The man didn't make it too far before seeing Artemis and her friend Lily emerge from the bar, the blond woman staggering and gripping the red head's shoulder tightly. Knives halted his strides, crossed his arms, and then waited to be noticed, his jaw tightly clenched. Their laughter floated past with the wind and then dissipated behind his form. 

            It didn't take long at all for Artemis to look up and see him lingering in the middle of the road, eyes narrowed. 

            "Shit," she muttered softly. 

            "What?" Lily tilted her head up, moving her arm from the young woman. "What's wrong?"

            Artemis eyed Knives who patiently waited, his gaze unblinking. Her head turned towards Lily. "I have to go, okay? I'll see you in the morning."

            Lily followed her friend's gaze to see Knives. She recognized him easily. It was the guy that Artemis was always hanging around when she wasn't hanging around Lily. They were usually surrounded by the group of people she'd seen her first night into Demetri. Artemis had refused to tell her what his name was, or why she was even with this guy, but Lily figured it was for a shady reason. 

            "But we were havin' such a 'hic' good time…" Lily covered her mouth as she got a sudden case of the hiccups, eyebrows narrowing. "I have donuts!"

            With a slight laugh, Artemis declined. "Really, I've got to go Lily."

            "You always have to go. What is it with this guy, does he have a leash on you or something?"

            "If I explained everything to you…you'd never talk to me again, so I can't. Not now, anyhow."

            She didn't say anymore, hating to leave Lily, her best friend and mother figure, uninformed and alone. There were just some things she couldn't explain. If anyone understood it, it would be Wolfwood…he had gone down a similar path as Artemis. But she couldn't tell him either. Ignoring the heated glare from Knives, Artemis moved past him toward the motel, knowing he had turned sharply to follow. 

            "You're late," Knives murmured, "that's unacceptable."

            "Shut up Knives," Artemis grumbled, deftly swinging the door open to the room, fighting the urge to slam it in his face. 

            Her insult, though trivial, made anger flare up before he forced it down. Any other person would have been shot dead by now, but Artemis must remain alive at least until they reached the hiding place of the New Gung-ho Guns. 

            "I will not- you do not give out orders here, understood? I will not tolerate insolence." He kept his voice low to prevent the others in the rooms next door from hearing. "You've wasted valuable time and you're the one who wants to leave this place so badly. You contradict yourself, stupid fool."

            The slap across his face was definitely unexpected by both he and Artemis. She was fuming, however- she'd had enough insults from him, enough of him treating her and speaking of the others as though they were nothing but vermin. Knives looked positively shocked, his hand flying to his stinging cheek which burned with the red hand print. 

            "You hit me…you actually hit me?" was all he could manage to sputter out. It was likened to the time Vash had shot him in the leg- he never thought it would happen.

            "No duh Mr. Obvious," she replied sardonically, "I'm so sick of you…sick of waiting around here and keeping secrets from my friends. I want to know…when are we leaving?!"

            Instantly Knives clamped a hand over her mouth and pushed her against the wall, eyes narrowing. "Quiet!" he hissed, moving his hand from her mouth to hold her jaw firmly. "We leave when I say we leave, I've told you before. It won't take much longer, and you don't need to be asking questions, understood?"

            Seething, Artemis' nostrils flared lightly. Before she replied, a knock on the door sounded followed by Milly's worried voice.

            "Is everything alright in there, I thought I heard a crash. Mr. Knives? Artemis?"

            "Answer her," Knives whispered, eyes focused on the human woman as she turned her blue-green eyes toward the door. He studied her expression. She wasn't frightened. On the contrary, she was probably as angry as he was. 

            "We're fine Milly, don't worry about it, you can go back to bed," Artemis lied, thinking that the crash Milly had heard was probably her head thumped against the wall. That was going to hurt later.

            "Oh okay then, good night." 

            Knives slowly released Artemis and stepped back gesturing to the clipping on her bed. "You don't ask questions, but I do. What is that?"

            The red head turned her gaze to what he pointed to and felt her heart drop to her knees. She had to think of something to say…or everything would be ruined.


	19. Part Nineteen

**~Under the Sky so Blue: Aftermath~**

****

**Part Nineteen**

****

****

            _"What is that?" Knives had asked her after he released her from his death grip._

_            Artemis felt her heart drop to her knees. She had to think of something to say, and quickly, or everything would be ruined. Solemnly she picked up the newspaper clipping, gazed at it for a moment, and then turned her eyes to Knives. _

_            "Just keeping tabs of your work, Knives, that's all. I just wanted to see how your mind worked."_

_            Silently she had hoped he would believe her. He had to, he couldn't ask her anymore questions because she wouldn't know how to answer them. Keeping her eyes steady and on his, Artemis waited for his response. Seconds felt hours long suddenly under the intense ice blue gaze. She found herself thinking he'd really be handsome if he weren't such a jerk. He reminded her of someone from home…someone who had disappeared…someone he had killed. _

_            "You are strange," Knives finally said and then hadn't said anything else. He vanished into the bathroom to take a shower and left Artemis alone. She breathed out heavily and sat on her bed…in moments she had fallen into a restless sleep…_

_            …When Knives emerged from the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his lithe body, his eyes fell on the sleeping Artemis, who hadn't bothered changing or getting under the covers. The fool even slept right beside her dangerous bullet tipped arrows- which exploded on hard contact. With a shake of his head, and not wanting to risk being blown to bits because of her absent mindedness, Knives briskly strode over and reached over her sleeping form, picking the quiver up cautiously. _

_            There he'd paused- the strap was looped around one of her arms. With an annoyed sigh, he clenched his jaw and used the other hand to pick her arm up, slipping the strap free. He wasn't quick to let go- he set her arm back down rather than brashly drop it onto the bed again- then set the quiver against the wall. Knives' ice blue gaze kept on the young human woman's sleeping form, traveling along to study her when she wasn't speaking out insults to him. A harsh chuckle escaped his throat- he rather liked her like that: quiet. Though he had to admit that he was growing used to her outbursts to him- it seemed he managed to anger her as much as she angered him. It was not often someone would dare go up against Knives- except for Vash, nobody had tried. _

_            Realizing where his thoughts may soon lead, Knives' gaze hardened and he averted his gaze from the shining red hair loosely tied back, ignoring the fact that he was somehow taken by the way it fell over the edge of the bed. He ignored many things, really, that hadn't been there to ignore before…_

            _"Mr. Knives?" Milly's voice rang out, snapping the pale blond man from his thoughts. _

_            "What?" he snapped a little too quickly, then noticed the surprised expression on the big girl's face. "What is it, Milly?" He'd grown accustomed to calling everyone but Artemis by name. He truly didn't feel bothered by it anymore. Sacrifices had to be made and soon it just became routine. _

_            She beamed, getting over her initial shock. "Mr. Vash wanted me to let you know that he'll be waiting for you in the restaurant for lunch in a few minutes." _

_            Knives nodded then arched an eyebrow. "Milly?"_

_            "Yes, Mr. Knives?" she tilted her head, still smiling. It used to bother him that she was always smiling like that. _

_            "Why do you do that?"_

_            "Do what?"_

_            "Deliver messages for other people…call them formal names." _

_            "Well," was the famous start to any –ism of whatever sibling it was of Milly's- it almost made Knives regret asking, but he was slightly curious. "It's like my middle big brother told me. He told me to always be courteous and kind to people, and maybe then one day they'll return the favor."_

_            "I see…a favor." He repeated to himself then nodded, motioning her away. "That is all."_

_            "Have a nice lunch Mr. Knives! Oh, and tell Mr. Vash I said the same to him," she chirped before bounding away to whatever she had planned with her beloved priest man. _

_            Indeed…he didn't know why but Knives actually repeated what Milly had asked him to say to Vash when they met in the restaurant. The man didn't have to say a word- it wouldn't have gone against him in any way, it wouldn't have hurt his act one bit had he kept quiet, and yet…Knives still told Vash that Milly hoped he enjoyed his lunch…_

_            …Some few days later Knives happened by the well where some workers were attempting to build some sort of aqueduct toward a water reserve at the edge of town. It was a clever idea to reserve their resources, and he made a point of saying it to some random worker who happened to be Vash. _

_            Knives wondered why his brother was stooping so low as to work side by side with ordinary people and yet he was intrigued to find out what could be so enjoyable about it._

_            "Why don't you try Knives?" Vash asked, hoisting a hollowed out slab of curved wood to a man on top of the well. "Just roll up your sleeves and start picking these things up."_

_            The pale blond curled his nose a bit at the thought of getting his hands calloused by doing physical work, but thought this in fact would be bad to decline from. He had to make Vash think he was changing. With a slight grunt, Knives pushed his sleeves back to show his strong forearms and easily lift up another half tube. In any case, the water reserve would be helpful for when they rebuilt this wasteland into a lush planet. The strangest feeling came, however, at the end of the day. Everyone was exhausted, sweaty, and slightly burnt from the hot suns, and yet Knives had felt a certain measure of accomplishment…_

_            …The month mark had come and passed by nearly another week from the time that Artemis, Lily, and Wolfwood arrived in Demetri all at once. They were all still neatly gathered there, and on a particularly nice day everyone seemed to be out and about in the streets. Knives sat a little less rigidly than usually on a bench in front of the saloon, simply watching the people interact with each other. They laughed, joked, yelled, and told stories while children darted to and fro playing with a blue bouncing ball. _

_            Milly and Wolfwood were joined in the game, clapping and praising the smaller children who managed to throw or catch a ball successfully.  The children often beamed at the reactions. Vash and Meryl sat near Knives- the spiky haired man enjoying a bag of freshly baked doughnuts and the petite insurance woman biting his head off about something. It struck Knives as amusing that his brother would allow someone to keep on him like that, but he supposed it really was out of his hands. Knives couldn't get through to Vash anymore, and somehow…for some reason…Knives himself was beginning to feel rather indifferent about the whole situation. _

_            **"Do you think you could ever live with them in peace?"**_

_            Knives could hear the question in his mind again. He didn't beat it away this time- it lingered there for a long while, resonating in the depths of his thoughts. He lift his eyes to the sky. It was clear, sapphire blue…he could almost smell the freshness of the air, hear every bird singing. It was very much like the rec. room on board the S.E.E.D.S. ship that he, Vash, and Rem used to visit daily. He remembered suddenly the small conversation that took place one day there when they spoke of creating the Eden on their new planet…they would create it together. _

_            **"A place where there's no stealing…and no killing…"**_

_            The pale blond man blinked suddenly. His eyes had felt moist and hot and it startled him. Shaking his head, he looked down to his feet to see the blue ball bouncing toward him and a dark haired child no more than five years old bounding after it. Without thinking, Knives leaned down, took the ball in his hands and held it out to the little girl. She beamed at him._

_            "Thank you mister!" she exclaimed excitedly and blushed when, for some reason, he brushed a strand of her dark hair from her eyes…_

…'Why did I do all those things?' Knives now silently wondered as he tugged a shirt over his torso smoothly. His eyes stared into the mirror before him inside the bathroom as he got ready. 

            A month and a half had gone by so quickly and so much had gotten accomplished. More than Knives ever thought would get done…and some things that he hadn't expected to get done at all. In fact, he had never seen them coming. He had hardly noticed that he and Artemis had slacked severely from working on his plans every night for the past week and a half. He had hardly noticed that she stayed out much later than eight o'clock at night, though he did notice that he wondered why she did it. Knives wondered many things and it aggravated him that he didn't know the answers. 

            Demetri was throwing a celebration party for the repairs made to the town, and for the additions made to better their resources. It had been Vash and Knives' idea to do some of the things that were built or refinished, though Knives always justified his actions as it being work going toward his Eden. He wasn't so sure about that anymore…an Eden would be nice, yes, but he wasn't sure if it was the reason why he did this stuff. It was strangely gratifying. 

            "Knives are you ready yet?" Vash called out, stepping into the room. 

            The annoyed shriek that followed the spiky blond man's voice made Knives' lips tug into a faint grin. Apparently Artemis wasn't ready yet and Vash was finding it out the hard way. 

            "Ouch! Agh! SCARY!!" Vash cried, running out of the room as Artemis threw one of her shoes at him. 

            Knives stepped out from the bathroom- he had just spent an hour in there…superior beings had to look perfect…though he was just a perfectionist anyhow- and turned his gaze nonchalantly to Artemis. He never thought he'd see it, but she was wearing a dress, and that long, long hair had been pulled up easily at the back of her neck. 

            He didn't say a word and she only glared at him for staring before walking out. 


	20. Part Twenty

**Author's Note** Whee! Can you believe it? Three chapters in 2 days? This is too awesome, for you and for me! I'm excited but then I'm not, because the end of the story will be coming up pretty soon. *sniffles* But hey, I've been thinking about a sequel to the sequel to go even farther. From the reviews I've been getting for this story, it doesn't seem like such a bad idea, eh?

Ultra Sonic 007- Yes, I did notice the review you left for me for "Vacation", I've just really been slacking on that story coz I really want to get this one done. Anyhow, you're right about Knives, and I'm glad you caught onto it, though I guess it wasn't that difficult. 

Jess Perry- You caught on too! Yay! And yeah, I wrote Vacation too, heh, but it's alright, just as long as you like the stories. 

*A figure from the shadows step forward, Artemis in her lovely party dress* "I don't mean to be rude, but can we got on with the story? I've got stuff to do."

Um, sure, Artemis but you know…

*Artemis* "Yeah?"

Never mind I can't really tell you, I'd give stuff away too early. 

*Artemis* Well you can tell me, just me, can't you?

Uh…no, sorry, no can do. 

*Artemis* Tch, fine, be that way…I'll just get back to the story then.

Good idea…oh and hey, tell Knives I said he looks nice.

*Artemis* Tell him yourself…

Touchy…

Disclaimers: I don't own any Trigun characters or the Trigun series, nor am I affiliated with the creators in any way.

Claimers: All original characters (new ones, people) are owned or co-owned by me. 

**~Under the Sky so Blue: Aftermath~**

****

**Part Twenty**

****

            Milly finished tying up her long chestnut hair, tying it with a blue satin ribbon tightly. It was strange- she never wore it up like this before, but it looked so nice and the ribbon matched her new blue party dress perfectly. A faint blush colored her cheeks- Wolfwood had bought the dress for her to wear when she said she didn't own a dress. With a slight shake of her head, Milly Thompson turned to find Meryl having a bit of difficulty.

            The raven haired woman grew perturbed by everything- the ribbon around her head, the white dress she wore, her shoes, and her hair that wouldn't lie flat. 

            "I look like a kid!" Meryl shouted, tearing the ribbon from her hair and crossed her arms in front of the mirror, huffing. The dress came to above her knees, showing off her slender legs and semi-toned calves and the sleeves were completely absent. It was actually a nice dress. "Forget it, I'm not going! There's still a report that needs to be written and…"

            "…Oh hush, Meryl, you look perfectly fine, you're just nervous, that's all!" Milly cut her friend off. "Besides, I think Mr. Vash will think the same thing."

            "What makes you think I'm worrying over this for that broom-head?!" Meryl gaped, hands clenching into fists before she relaxed slightly and turned her eyes toward the door. She had just heard Vash's voice, followed by Artemis screaming, and then Vash shouting 'Scary!' and running away. "What the hell is wrong with him now?"

            In spite of herself, Meryl still smiled. 

            Vash squirmed, tugging at the tight collar of his freshly pressed red silk shirt. It was too new still, and too uncomfortable to be buttoned the way Wolfwood told him to. Taking a quick glance at the priest, the spiky blond undid the top three buttons and drew in a long breath. Much better. His hand rubbed the side of his face, though, where Artemis' shoe struck him. It was hard to see the red mark because Vash was still blushing furiously from having walked in on her while she changed. He hummed softly as a wide smile crossed his lips. 

            "You better be smiling because she didn't kill you," Wolfwood muttered from around a cigarette. "Artemis doesn't let people off so easily, you're lucky you only got a shoe to your head, needle-noggin."

            "I've been meaning to ask you- how do you know her?" Vash snapped out of his boyish trance, trying to figure out if he should leave his damp, tousled hair down or put it up as it always was.

            "I knew her when we were kids- we stayed in the same place for a while and then she took off." The priest replied, putting his hands into his pockets and looked at Vash. "She was about sixteen when she left, but we were good friends. Strange how we met like this again."

            Vash didn't ask anymore about the priestess. He found out only what he'd asked about. Though he did wonder if they were both from some sort of twisted sect of priests- he never knew that servers of God were able to have relationships. But then again, it seemed that these two weren't exactly what one would call your average person of the cloth. They seemed to do things their own way. 

            "Aren't you going to change, Wolfwood?"

            "Into what? I don't wear anything else, I'm a man of God, for God's sake." Wolfwood snapped, shaking his head.

            "Well Artemis is a woman of God and she was wearing a dress…or at least that's what she was holding when I walked in." His eyes gleamed but the goofy grin never made it to his face because Wolfwood already knocked him in the back of the head to prevent it. 

            "She's a girl- I don't need to dress fancy to look good, alright? Are you ready or do you need more time on your hair?"

            Vash decided to leave his hair tousled the way it was. He didn't have time to put it up anyhow and besides, he was running low on the hair gel.

            Artemis crossed her arms, ignoring the wind that made loose baby strands of red tickle behind her ears and neck. She didn't notice that it felt a little cold on her bared shoulders either, or that the material of the loose skirt was rippling around her legs threatening to go up if the wind grew strong enough. 

            The young woman was aggravated, though not for the reason of Vash having walked in on her. It'd happened before…Wolfwood probably still had the scar on the back of his neck from her nails. The memory didn't even cause a smile to surface. Artemis was too irritated…at Knives, and at her self. 

            They hadn't worked on his stupid plan in almost two weeks, so she assumed it was thought through enough. Why on Gunsmoke then were they still hanging around Demetri? He still refused to leave when she asked, and she was getting sick of asking and demanding that they leave. Midvalley was not going to be a happy camper and she figured they were probably well on their way of taking matters into their own hands. 

            That wasn't the only thing, though perhaps it was the most important. Artemis was none too pleased with herself to find she was beginning to feel attracted to Knives. She had no idea why or how it happened, or where it came from. She tried to blame it on him being one of the only guys she'd seen for the past two months or so, but even that wasn't a sturdy enough theory. She'd even been strangely pleased by the way he was presented coming out from the steam filled bathroom after his shower. 

            His hair had been damp, a sweet soapy smell emitted from his skin, and through the thin veil of steam she could see his ice blue eyes intensely upon her. She didn't like how Knives had looked at her. Actually…what Artemis didn't like was the fact she _did like how he had looked at her. It was a strange way to stare at someone- he almost looked surprised._

            "Humph, probably because he's shocked a piece of human garbage can clean up nicely," she tried to justify it the only way she dared to. Artemis couldn't think about things like that. She couldn't let her friends down…she shouldn't, but she just couldn't stay there any longer. 

            Sometime during the party, Artemis would excuse herself and step outside for a breath of fresh air. Then she'd slip away to the motel, grab her things, and leave Demetri. Once she was a decent isle or two away she'd stop to change quickly and then continue on until reaching December. Wolfwood told her about the orphanage he had there…she could stay there he said, if she ever needed to, or if was just passing through. 

            Soon major bustling about through the motel's exit was heard as the others came piling outside into the cool air. Knives was last, walking smoothly with his head slightly tilted upward. It was all she could do to keep from sticking out her foot and tripping him, just to knock the smug smile off of his face. The pale blond man stopped before her, offering an arm to her.

            "I'll walk with you."

            "I can manage, thanks," she snapped. 

            With a sigh, Knives looped his arm around hers anyway. "Make it believable- they will think it odd if you don't."

            Grudgingly, Artemis let him take her arm and hooked it into his, walking with space between them to the saloon which was decorated with streamers and balloons and music played loudly from the jukebox. The red head frantically looked around and found Lily sitting at the bar. If anyone was going to know, Lily would be the first to tell that Artemis was skipping town. 

            "Pardon me…_honey," Artemis forced out the last word with resentment having to say it because Milly was staring at them strangely. _

            Knives didn't move but watched as the red head made her way to the bar and quickly order a drink. A strange feeling twisted in his stomach. Something wasn't right. 


	21. Part Twenty one

** Author's Note ** Hooray! Usually when this thing is up here it means the start of another chapter…well…this one isn't any different! ^_^ Though I have to wonder if people actually READ what I put up in these nifty little things. Coz, ya know, I'm usually just babbling about whatever, right? I have to say I'm a little surprised that I've only gotten one review for chapter 20, have all my readers vanished?! I'll cry if you have, ("And I'll haunt your children, and your children's children too!"). Otherwise…umm…yeah, review please!!!

Jess Perry- *sigh* My wonderful, dedicated lone reviewer! You know…you read into Knives very well, I'm glad to say that you're very right about him. J Heh, but what's to come…dun, dun, dun…

*A loud whistling sound comes from above and suddenly in drops Milly with her Stun gun* "Alright, alright, alright! Who did it? Who ate my pudding?!"

Uh oh…Milly, is everything alright?

*Milly looks disgruntled* "No Miss Author Lady, everything is _not alright! Somebody ate my last can of pudding! I was saving it for later and now it's gone!"_

*raises an eyebrow and looks around innocently* Gee, that's horrible Milly.

*Milly* Miss Author Lady, it wasn't you was it?

*Wipes a smidgen of pudding from the corner of lips* Huh? Ha-ha, gee what makes you think that?

*Milly pouts* You don't have to lie to me Miss Author Lady! If you ate it you can tell me!

*points to the stun gun* Um, if I said I did, would you shoot me with that thing?

*she blinks* Why, did you want me to?

*shakes head* Oh, no, no not at all!

*smiles* It's alright if you ate it…after all you _did_ bring back Mr. Priest for me!

*sighs, relieved* Whew…alright…I did eat it Milly, I'm really sorry. I just was hungry and had a hankering for pudding…

*Milly lifts the stun gun* Just don't let it happen again! *smiles sweetly* See you around Miss Author Lady- I'm going back to the story now. 

Yikes…

Disclaimers: I don't own any Trigun characters or the Trigun title nor am I affiliated with them in any way or making any sort of profit from this story.

Claimers: All original characters are owned or co-owned by me.

**~Under the Sky so Blue: Aftermath~**

****

**Part Twenty-one**

****

            Knives watched in wonderment at the sight before him, hardly believing that people could behave so oddly.  Some people danced, some sang, some drank, and some did all three at once which caused some of their drinks to be spilled or sputtered all over the floor. A couple of months ago this would really have grated his nerves.  This behavior by humans would truly have made Knives wish every single one of these celebrating humans dead. For some reason, at the moment, it truly didn't bother him. It just made him wonder where their emotions came from. 

            A soft scowl crossed the pale blonde's face.  Why didn't this bother him? Why was it making him want to know where human emotion came from? Why did it make him feel like he wanted to be part of it all of a sudden? Knives was no longer against the world, nor did he feel as though the world was against him. 

            _'The only person against you is yourself, Knives; everyone here really likes you.' _

_            'I can't understand why…they only act that way because fear grips their hearts…fear of who I am, who I am linked to, and what I might be able to do.'_

_            'No. You're wrong about that. They only know you are my brother. They don't know if you're a plant or a human, they don't know of what we're capable of…they only see you as an equal, Knives, and they like you for that reason. You know how people react when they know what we are- we have both experienced it first hand…fear turns to anger and people will lash out. Here…they don't know our story…we can just start over, and they'll never have to know.'_

Knives' eyes were closed as he remembered the brief conversation between him and his brother. It hadn't been that long ago, though it was around the time when Knives had first begun his act on the town, Vash, and the others. They could start over? These people only knew Vash as an outlaw, and they only knew Knives as the outlaw's older twin brother. The townsfolk of Demetri didn't know that if these two wished it so, Vash and Knives could destroy them with the blink of an eye. 

            Steve had acted out with anger because of his fear of what Vash and Knives were. It made the pale blond think a little. The only times these humans lashed out was when they felt like they were threatened- when they felt the need to protect themselves. Knives only thought, for over 130 years, that humans did it because they were only afraid of being wiped out. That was not so. People felt the urge to protect not only themselves, but their friends, families, cities…not just their own lives but their posterity as well. 

            Slowly the man opened his eyes to let his gaze take in the celebration again.  What felt the most important before no longer drove him to want the end of human kind. Knives witnessed people struggling to make their own town a better place, even if they couldn't do the same to the rest of the world surrounding them.  He and Vash even worked on the sand around the nearby plant, turning it until it became rich enough to sow flower seedlings. Within a week's time the little green tendrils had sprouted from the ground, well on their way of becoming bright and beautiful red flowers. 

            Perhaps humans were not a waste of time after all. Not all of them wanted to destroy the land…not all of them were as horrible as Steve. They had their reasons, just as Knives once had his. He sighed softly. His Eden would not have been much anyhow. Who would have been left once all the humans had gone? Vash and the very few plants remaining in deserted towns? What sort of Eden was really worth living in when there was hardly anybody to enjoy it? Spiders and butterflies…they could both be saved after all, couldn't they?

            "Mr. Knives? Are you alright?" Milly's voice broke through his thoughts, making him turn his eyes to her slowly. 

            He took a moment to study her face. She showed concern. Real concern. For him. Knives smiled faintly. 

            "Yes. I'm fine."

            She smiled and took a big swig from whatever alcoholic beverage she drank then beamed at him once more. "Okay, Mr. Knives, then I'll leave you alone. I hope you have fun tonight!" 

            He nodded to her as she turned, the giant ponytail swaying, watching as a half sober Wolfwood took his big girl into his arms for a dance. Knives leaned back into his chair, then sat up straighter, his fingers silently tapping against the side of his wine glass. He saw Vash just finishing his dance with Meryl, who in fact looked positively ecstatic though was trying to hide it underneath her usual demeanor. He saw some children running in and out of the saloon, playing some game, laughing. He watched couples move with grace or clumsiness over the floor in dance while others merely stood close to each other. Knives even saw a black cat nuzzling a smaller red cat. 

            What was so wrong with emotion? He found himself asking once more. What was so wrong with it that he'd hated it so much? 

            _'Don't you remember how it used to be, Knives? When we were on the ship…Rem would always play with us- she'd always make us laugh, hold us, tell us stories, and just talk to us. Rem loved us, Knives, she died to save us and the others. I thought you loved her just as much as I did…what happened?'_

"I don't know," Knives whispered aloud to the memory of Vash's voice. His brother had made a point. That woman…Rem…she really did love them both. She'd saved them three times…and she died in the end. Knives clenched his jaw tightly, turning his eyes to the wall quickly. His eyes burned. He didn't like how it felt. After a moment or so the burning stopped and he shook his head. Even though Rem wouldn't be alive now, she still should have lived a better life.

            "Hey, Artemis, where ya going kiddo?!" The blond woman, Lily, called out to her friend from the bar.  "I thought we were gonna sing something!"

            Artemis turned in mid-step, the hem of her long violet dress swirling around her legs. She waved a hand almost nonchalantly though a gleam in her eyes suggested she was anything but nonchalant. Knives could see it well- she struggled over something.

            "Ah, nowhere, just…I'm going outside for a few minutes for some air. I'll be right back." 

            He watched as she walked past him quickly, giving him the strangest of glances first before vanishing outside. 

            "Dance with me, fair maiden!" Vash's voice caused Knives to jerk his attention back towards the others. The older twin smirked lightly as his brother offered a hand to Lily, at the same time noticing the absolutely stressed expression on Meryl's face. 

            Lily eyed Vash warily before smiling lightly and took his hand, muttering some words of warning to him before making their way to the midst of the other dancers. Knives shook his head- Meryl would never get anywhere with Vash unless she openly expressed her feelings for him. They were obvious to everyone else except for the spiky blond haired man, and he'd never know it unless he really tried to find out. 

            And then Knives felt something cold in the pit of his stomach. His ice blue eyes darted toward the door as he stood from his chair rather abruptly, knocking it to the floor. Artemis was not near. Only a minute or so had passed, where had she gone? He slipped past the celebrators and out the doors to find her form, dress fluttering in the sand-filled wind, moving swiftly toward the motel. He knew her thoughts- she was going to leave.

            Knives went after her, easily catching up without making a sound, and his hand gripped her elbow. 

            "Where are you going?"

            The red head turned sharply, eyes intense. "I'm leaving Demetri."

            "You can't."

            She clenched her jaw tightly. "I'm through taking orders from you, Knives…I'm not staying here any longer. I'm leaving now, and if you're planning on leaving still then do it now. Otherwise, you're completely on your own."

            Knives huffed, looking over his shoulder to find Vash, Meryl, Wolfwood, Milly and Lily all coming outside to see what was going on. Apparently their voices were carried by the wind. He looked back.

            "I'm not leaving, not yet. You can't go." He tried again, still holding her elbow tightly.

            Artemis scoffed, trying to jerk her arm from him but to no avail. He was a lot stronger than she thought he'd be. Then again, it really shouldn't have surprised her- she knew what he was. 

            "Let me go!"

            "Knives? Artemis? What's going on?" Wolfwood asked, stepping forward.

            Lily crossed her arms, "Let her go, you oaf!" she shouted to Knives, though didn't want to step in. Artemis could take care of herself if she wanted to. 

            Knives called back to them, "She's…she wants to leave Demetri."

            They all frowned. 

            "Why are you leaving now? Isn't traveling at night a little dangerous?" Meryl asked, confused. 

            Artemis grimaced. "Let me go, Knives! I have to leave, you all…you don't understand!"

            "What's so important that you've got to go so suddenly? You've been in a hurry since you arrived," Knives demanded to know.

            The red head smiled bitterly. "Do you really want to know?! All of you- do you want to know _why I came here? Why I spent all my time with this…high and mighty jerk?!"_

            Suddenly Knives felt himself pale. She wouldn't…she was going to tell them! He pulled on her elbow. 

            "_No_!" he hissed. She paid him no attention. He let go of her arm. What could he do?

            Artemis laughed ruefully. "My name is Artemis Fawn, a traveling priestess, not too unlike Nicholas Wolfwood here…you knew that much, I assume. What you didn't know is that I am a part of the New Gung-ho Guns- I go by the name Arrow Goddess after my namesake, the Greek Goddess of the hunt. Much like her, I hunt as well. This time I was sent to hunt for him, for Knives, to lead him from Demetri and back to the hideout of the Gung-ho Guns."

            Knives clenched his hands into fists. He could feel eyes on the back of his head. They listened to her but stared at him. 

            "What are you talking about?" Vash asked, voice faltering. 

            She turned her blue green eyes to the spiky blond haired man. "Knives has been planning a new wave of attacks on the people of Gunsmoke; he's been planning to destroy the cities all over again in order to create his perfect little world…this Eden he keeps babbling about." She sighed heavily. "Everything has been an act. Knives has fooled all of you into thinking he accepts humanity when in fact he despises it, perhaps more than ever!"

            Vash shook his head, "He…he can't! He changed, he did!"

            Meryl frowned and stepped forward. "Wait a minute then…were you helping him plan everything? If you know about it so well, then you must have been!"

            Artemis bowed her head. "I've been acting as well." She lift her chin and clenched her jaw. "I've been acting to fool Knives. You see- I wanted to leave this place as quickly as possible…because on the way to the hideout, I was…going to stop Knives from ever going through with his plan."

            Knives' eyes widened in shock. Was she saying what he thought she was? Wolfwood spoke from behind, but Knives couldn't take his eyes from the red headed woman.

            "You were going to kill him, weren't you?"

            "Yes."

            "But…why would you want to kill Mr. Knives?" Milly piped up, her voice melancholy.

            "To stop him! To stop him from doing anymore damage! I know it wasn't Vash who was really behind those towns' destructions, it wasn't his fault that bad things happen! It was always Knives! I had to stop him from doing it again- I had to stop him before the same thing happened that took place in Southern Cornelia! He killed them! All of them! All my friends are _gone_!"

            The others were rendered speechless as Artemis fought tears, her body terse, face flushed red from anger and determination. Knives stood before her still, ice blue eyes unblinking as he remembered the newspaper clipping…the vanishings in Southern Cornelia. That's the real reason she carried it with her…to remind her of her true motive. 

            "Knives…tell us she's lying, please?" Vash took a few steps toward his brother, hope glinting in his eyes. 

            "I wish I could say she is. She is telling the truth…but…" he turned to face the others who gazed at him in shock. "…But I don't care about all of that anymore."

            Lily snapped out of her silence, getting over the semi-drunken state she'd been in. "Kiddo, why didn't you tell me all of this?"

            "I couldn't, Lily, I…I didn't want to tell you what I was going to do. I was afraid."

            "Of what?" the blond woman inquired, arching an eyebrow.

            Artemis looked to Knives, then to Vash, and then to Lily. "Because if I had…and I succeeded in killing Knives, you might have found out what he was. He's the same…he's the same as you."

            Naturally the others had no idea what Artemis was talking about, all except for Lily, who's lavender eyes widened but she didn't say anymore, only nodded. Artemis turned to attempt leaving once more, yet the grip on her arm returned.

            "Let me go!" she shouted, whipping around, bringing back a fist to swing at Knives. 

            He easily blocked it, his larger hand covering her fist and brought it down to her side. Knives shook his head lightly. 

            "Don't."

            "You killed them!" she shouted, her voice breaking. 

            As the others watched, they struggled to figure out what to believe. Had Knives really changed or was he still acting? The serene gleam in his formally cold blue eyes seemed to prove that he wasn't trying to fool them anymore. 

            "I know," he replied, releasing her fist and slowly let go of her arm again. "It's not worth much, and I do not have an excuse to justify my reasons for what I did, but…I apologize."

            "Shut-up! I should kill you! Right now!" she shoved him hard, causing him to step back to regain balance. 

            Anger flared in him, but it died down. He didn't like it when she was upset. All of a sudden, Knives didn't want Artemis to be angry with him anymore. 

            "Then kill me, but know that it won't bring them back."

            It caught her off-guard…hell, it caught everyone off-guard. Artemis looked up as Knives ordered Meryl to give up one of the derringers he knew she cleverly had hidden underneath the skirt of her dress. Hesitantly she gave it to him and he forced it into the red head's hand. 

            "You have a weapon- I know it is not the kind you use, but you have a shot. Take it." Knives replied, rather calmly. 

            Vash watched in silent terror. The scene was much too familiar to him- it reminded him very much of Legato telling him to end his life in order to save Meryl and Milly. And now, Knives told Artemis to end his life…in order to save humankind and to avenge the deaths he had already caused. Only…humankind was already safe. Vash knew Knives wasn't going to harm anyone, at least, not like he used to.

            Artemis aimed, determination on her flustered face. Her arm shook as her finger squeezed the trigger lightly, eyes locking onto Knives' own. His gaze was unfaltering, unrelentingly calm, and…not at all as harsh as she'd remembered it to be. She couldn't…she couldn't kill him. Her finger pulled the trigger all the way back just as she jerked the barrel toward the sky, the single bullet wasted in the dark. 

            The derringer dropped to the ground harmlessly, a heavy and relieved sigh escaping the others' lips in unison. Knives watched the young woman bow her head and close her eyes tightly to keep the tears from flowing. He stepped forward, tentatively placing his hands on her shoulders. 

            "Don't leave."

            Artemis shook her head. "I have to- I shouldn't stay here."

            "They don't want you to leave," Knives pressed, glancing over his shoulder. They nodded in agreement to him. For the most part, Artemis had been pleasant company. She'd helped Milly and Meryl on a lot of stuff (including dragging an overly drunken Vash back to the motel a few times) and Wolfwood and Lily weren't keen on having an old friend leave. 

            "I'm leaving, Knives, let go of me." She took a step backward. Artemis lift her chin to see the others over his shoulder. They gazed at her with mixed emotions. They didn't know her that well, but they did like her. Wolfwood and Lily were the only two who really knew her…and perhaps Knives did as well. 

            The pale blond shook his head and sighed heavily. _If only Meryl told Vash her true feelings…_the thought recurred to Knives. Why didn't he simply take his own advice? 

            _'**I don't want you to leave.'**_

            Artemis jerked her head up sharply, locking gazes with him. She'd heard his voice yet he hadn't spoken a word. He'd spoken into her mind, so no one else had heard…she knew they were capable of extraordinary things…but something like that? It surprised her. The way he'd said it…Artemis was tired of fighting. There wasn't even a battle to be fought anymore. 


	22. Part Twenty two

**~Under the Sky so Blue: Aftermath~**

****

**Part Twenty-two**

****

            "Do you think she's right about Mr. Knives, Meryl? That he was just acting the whole time?" 

            "Milly, he admitted to it himself, what else are we supposed to think."

            "That's true, you're right. But, you know, he did change. Couldn't you tell?"

            A long pause came before the reply. "I could…yes, he has definitely changed. Though I'm not sure what did it."

            'Not what…who,' Knives thought, overhearing the conversation next door. 'And it isn't even because of one person. It was not Vash by himself, it was not the town by itself…it was…everything.'

            The pale blond man turned his eyes to the door as Vash walked in carrying a tray with soup and bread on it. Neither one spoke a word aloud as the tray was carefully set down on the stand next to Artemis' bed. She slept there soundly as she had for the last day or so. From what Lily had told them, Artemis had been awake for two days straight without sleep. Whatever breakdown she'd had really did her head in.

            Vash turned his aqua eyes toward the sleeping priestess then to his brother. 

            **_'You really tried to trick us, Knives? Why?'_**

**_            'Does it matter now, brother? Does it matter anymore because I'm not playing a game anymore.'_**

**_            '…No…I guess it doesn't. Has she woken up at all?'_**

**_            'Once to eat. Is this mine?'_**

**_            'Yes- Meryl made it for you.'_**

**_            'Give her my gratitude…'_**

**_            'I will.'_**

****Vash smiled as he turned and left the room. His brother somehow had gotten through his head that nobody was perfect- that no one was better than someone else just because their race or species was more advanced. He just wish he had seen through Knives' act to begin with. Then again, if he had…would Knives had turned out this way after all?

            The others had gone outside- Meryl was volunteering at the restaurant while Milly and Wolfwood somehow took on the job as town baby-sitters. All the children surrounded them in laughter and beckoned them to play several different games at once. Vash had a hankering for donuts, and so he left the motel as well. 

            Knives silently ate his soup, which was really very good he found, but kept his eyes out the window. He had a feeling that if Artemis woke up she wouldn't appreciate it if he'd been watching her sleep. 

            _…"Come on, why don't we go back inside." Knives stated to Artemis, her head still bowed. _

_            "No…" but she had taken a step toward the motel anyhow. _

_            Knives glanced at the others, wondering what they should do after hearing everything. He waved a hand._

_            "I can handle this, you go back to your party," he had said a little harsher than intended, but it got the job done. They nodded and turned around to go back, all except for Lily, who stood there studying them both until Knives had Artemis through the door of the motel._

            Taking something of a risk, Knives allowed a sneaked peek at the young woman, who turned on her side, brow furrowed, long hair hanging over the side of the bed once more. If he just stood and moved to her…maybe he could feel if her hair was as soft as it looked. 

            Almost immediately, Knives mentally kicked himself for thinking it. But still…he stood and moved beside the bed and stared down at her. He remembered Rem's hair. She always smelled sweet and flowery- Knives and Vash loved the way Rem sounded, smelled, looked…she used to hug them tightly and they'd be engulfed in a tidal wave of flowers and candy. When was the last time someone held either of them like that?

            His fingers trailed along the bedpost, slowly down to the mattress and lightly grazed over the strands of red. From what Knives could tell, Artemis' hair was just like Rem's. The priestess stirred in her sleep, eyes fluttering open slowly and then focused up at the pale blond man. Her eyebrows narrowed and she sat up quickly.

            "What were you doing?"

            "Nothing." Knives replied casually, meeting her gaze. 

            She scowled at him then turned away. "Then go away."

            "No…" he said simply, sitting on the edge of the bed. She didn't move, but she didn't look at him either. "You can leave…whenever you want to."

            "What?" Artemis turned her eyes to him briefly. "Why, so you can hunt me down and kill me later?"

            Knives narrowed his eyes. "No, because you want to leave so badly!" he lowered his voice before continuing. "I want you to stay here…but if you want to leave, then go."

            The red head huffed, crossing her arms, trying to think of something to say. When nothing came and she didn't budge, Knives took it to mean she wasn't going to leave Demetri after all. 

            "Why did you do it?" she asked softly. "What was your reason for seeing all humans as…nothing?"

            He closed his eyes…and winced. He could feel the pain still…Knives didn't know if it would work, but he could try it. She didn't have the same gift as he and Vash, but his mind was strong enough. 

            "I'll show you." He tentatively touched her right temple, turning to face her, and locked gazes. He could remember…everything.

            _…"Knives, what're you doing in here?!" Steve yelled out. Knives, as a small child, turned from the computer panel with a smile…innocent…such a sweet smile. _

_            "You don't belong here! Get out!" the man shouted at both Knives and another who could only be Vash. _

_            When neither moved fast enough the bigger man shoved Vash down against a glass tube…there were people in the tubes surrounding them. _

_            "Leave him alone!" Knives cried out in defense of his younger twin. He was horrified that this man would try to hurt them._

_            Steve shoved Knives as well. "You monster!" he shouted, delivering a kick to the child's forehead…it hurt so badly…_

The pain felt real. Artemis jerked her head back, opening her eyes, forgetting when she had even closed them. Tears glittered in her eyes. How could someone be so cruel? How could someone change a child into what Knives turned out to be? How did someone like Knives change back into what he used to be? In some ways she understood what caused him to wreak havoc and despise people so much. Yet…it wasn't an excuse. Just as he had admitted the night before.

            "I'm sorry…" she murmured, casting her eyes away from him. 

            "Don't be. I thought you might not understand unless you saw it yourself. It doesn't make up for anything. It still doesn't bring your friends back. But if it gave you an explanation…" Knives trailed off, still holding his chin high. 

            Artemis was silent. Those images of Knives and Vash as children…there was a woman too. She'd seen her flash quickly by. A pretty young woman with brown hair and sparkling eyes. The name Rem came to mind, but meant nothing to Artemis…but she could feel what Knives had felt about her. He and Vash adored this woman. Their mother figure…their friend. 

            The priestess sighed heavily and glanced to Knives. His eyes were wide and unfocused, glittering as he stared out the window as stoically as he could manage. Suddenly her heart went out to him. For the longest time Knives was her enemy…and here she was…feeling sorry for him. 

            "Did she die?"

            "Who?" he asked, not looking at her.

            "The woman…Rem."

            Knives paused…then nodded slowly. "Yes. She died because of me."

            She said no more. Since Rem, Knives did not know human emotion. He only felt anger and hate towards humankind. There was no one to comfort him, nobody to show him otherwise for over 130 years. How could someone live that way, she couldn't begin to fathom. 

            Artemis placed a hand on his shoulder and he looked at her quizzically. Not a word was spoken between them- words had no place at that time. Knives was at a loss. He found he couldn't move all because of that simple gesture, because of a simple touch. What got him the most was the amount of sympathy in her eyes. He'd caused her so much pain, he'd caused so many people unimaginable torment…and yet, Artemis had sympathy for him.

            Lifting a hand, Knives brushed a strand of red from her blue-green eyes and leaned close, almost unsteadily. He had no idea what he was doing. In 130 years he never would have dreamed of even touching a human, let alone have strange feelings and thoughts over one. Artemis didn't stop him, as much as her mind tried she ignored its protests. Her eyes shut as she felt lips graze over hers and arms wrap around her. 

            From the doorway, Vash, Milly, Meryl, and Wolfwood peeked through the crack between the wood and the doorframe. Their minds couldn't comprehend what their eyes were seeing. Millions Knives, mass murderer and superior plant being…was making out with a human girl. 

            "Uh, I don't think we should be watching this," Milly whispered, averting her eyes, though there was a huge grin on her face. She loved it when these things happened.

            Meryl nodded, "Milly's right- this is private…come on before we see something we really shouldn't."

            Vash pouted a bit, "I dunno, what if we want to see it?"

            The insurance girls were already walking away. Wolfwood tugged on Vash's collar.

            "Come on needle-noggin, leave them be."

            "Aw man…" Vash whined but shut the door anyhow.


	23. Part Twenty Three

**Author's Note** Can anyone else believe how far along this story has come in such a short time? I can't, but then again, I already knew what I wanted to happen (for the most part). It was just a matter of feeling motivated enough to actually write. (Yes…minor editing will take place once I'm through writing, nothing really new will be added but I'd suggest checking it out anyhow). Heh, well this isn't the last chapter, but I have to say…it's coming very soon…I won't say anymore on the subject coz otherwise I'd give stuff away. -.- 

Jess Perry- No, that wasn't the end. (I'm sure you've figured that out by now though). I couldn't leave people hanging like that, wanting to know about the others…see now, that'd be just like the TV show. Can't have that, now can we?

Ultra Sonic 007- *lol* Well you think what you want when it comes to Knives and Artemis. I don't need to go into detail, though I'm glad nobody's flamed me for it (yet *sweat-drops*). As for Lily, well, again, I don't want to give anything away, so you'll just have to keep on reading ok? I swear….you reviewers are like inside my head…^_^ always jumping ahead in the plot. Hehe. 

Lu- That wasn't the end!!! O.O;; why does everyone think that? I said the end is coming soon, I didn't mean right now, that's it. *sighs* As for Vash and Meryl…well I've got a way of my own to handle that, but I'm sure a lot of fans who love a Vash and Meryl pairing will be disappointed. To be honest…I never thought it'd work out between them.

Disclaimers: I don't own Trigun or any of the Trigun characters, nor am I affiliated with them in any way.

Claimers: I own and co-own all original characters. This means Artemis, Lily, and Gemini don't belong to the people of Trigun…muaha…MINE!

**~Under the Sky so Blue: Aftermath~**

****

**Part Twenty-three**

****

****

            The b-flat note played perfectly; the walls of the puzzle-pieced saloon shook dangerously. A curve of a smile lit on Midvalley the Horn Freak's lips as he brought the mouth piece of his saxophone away. Perfection. However, there was something missing. He made it a point to speak of it.

            "Something's missing," Midvalley stated, bringing his gaze to the very small group of people seated at the makeshift tables littering the establishment. 

            "It certainly seems that way, doesn't it?" Gemini spoke smoothly, his fingertips brushing away a strand of dark chestnut hair which only fell back over his right eye. He smirked lightly glancing at the two others seated close by. "It appears that for the past two months that we've been without a leader…does it not, Midvalley?"

            The sax player huffed lightly. This was not his fault. That woman…that girl…Artemis, the so called Arrow Goddess, had yet to return with Knives. He looked once again over the pathetic group before him called the New Gung-ho Guns. There was hardly anybody worth recruiting on this place. 

            A weathered old man wearing a brightly patterned poncho blanket sat hunched forward, gazing at dust in the palm of his hand. He had no hair save but one or two wisps of gray behind his somewhat floppy ears. His eyes were tired and had bags under them, his tanned face wrinkled deeply. The Shaman Spirit was what he preferred to be called, but old man suited him well. Perhaps the Senile Spirit would have worked more. The dust he carried caused temporary blindness when thrown into one's eyes…blindness to reality, anyhow. The victim would not be able to distinguish who was friend or foe with the magic dust.

            Beside him was a frail looking young man with angled features with soft white-blond hair. His eyes were so pale blue they seemed almost non-existent, and his demeanor tended to make those wonder if he were dead or alive. Despite the build of his lanky frame, he carried a large gun-like weapon which attached to a tank strapped to his back carrying some sort of liquid. When he pulled the trigger, flames erupted from the end of the barrel, much like a flame-thrower. He deemed himself Tank the Fire Ghost, which was a fitting name save for the first half of it. 

            Midvalley shook his head. Knives would certainly have done much better. The sax player just had no eye for new recruits. If only the others hadn't died in those terrible ways. In any case, he knew that at least having Legato alive would've been more than this group. 

            "We won't be without a leader for long…in fact, we're moving out tonight, to Demetri, to find him." He finally replied to Gemini's smart-ass remark. 

            "Oh? And what about the girl?" Gemini inquired calmly, the smirk ever present on his lips. He gave Midvalley the creeps. From day one there'd been something strangely familiar about that man and the sax player could never put a finger on it. 

            "Don't know…who cares, really? She hasn't done her part which is bad news if we ever run across her again. The main objective is Knives." Midvalley responded with a shrug, looking to the others. 

            Tank arched an eyebrow, his pale eyes flicking about aimlessly. "Why do you think they haven't shown up yet? Is it possible it's because that girl hasn't found him?"

            The Shaman snorted indignantly, answering the question in place of the Horn Freak. "Unlikely. She has either been killed or our fearless leader has something else up his sleeve."

            Gemini stood slowly with his ever present smirk. "It does not matter. Midvalley- we should prepare to leave as soon as possible. Further delay will get us nowhere."

            *                                                          *                                                          *

            _'**Another week has passed…but what is two months' time compared to a hundred and thirty years? So much has been missed; so much time has been wasted on something that, in the end, held no real importance. I…I have changed.'**_****

Knives stared hard at his reflection in the mirror before running a hand through his thick pale blond hair. It'd gotten a little longer, looking slightly unruly. He was used to having it neatly trimmed at all times…his hands sought a pair of scissors and when he found them they were taken from his grasp.

            "You look like you need a haircut," Artemis spoke from behind him. 

            He faintly smiled, staring at her reflection, her eyes the only feature visible over his shoulder.  "I do, and I was ready to do it myself until you came along."

            The priestess shook her head, "Let me. I think you need something new done anyhow."

            "New?!" Knives shouted, aghast, ice blue eyes widening. "Give me the scissors, meddler…I've had the same hair cut for 130 years."

            "Precisely my point," she snickered with a glint in her eyes. "Get a chair, we'll go outside."

            "Since when do you give _me orders?" he tried his best to sound harsh. It usually wasn't difficult, but now he failed horribly._

            "Since you broke out of your superior shell, Knives. Come on." She turned, leaving him to stand there a moment in his own thoughts.

            **_'Vash was right about humans…they are not any less than us…they are born of free will. She reminds me of Rem…forgiving and passionate about everything. Would it have turned out this way if I had succeeded in killing him? My own brother?'_**

****

****"Vash? Can I talk to you for a second?" 

            Looking up from his opened box of freshly baked donuts, Vash the Stampede pouted at Meryl. 

            "Can it wait? These donuts aren't going to last forever you know!"

            The ebony haired woman clenched her hands into fists but replied very calmly. "Fine. It's been waiting this long." She turned around to leave his and Wolfwood's room.

            Whoa. Meryl didn't get mad at him? She didn't beat him, or throw something at him, or even call him something insulting? There was something wrong. Vash put the box down and stood.

            "Alright, what is it?" he asked. 

She turned around, her large grey-blue eyes shifting toward the floor. "There's something that's been on my mind for a while now, Vash, and if I don't say it I'm afraid I never will."

Vash watched as she nervously shuffled her feet on the floor. This wasn't how Meryl acted. He felt strange…like he knew what she was going to say. Knives had told him once, when he first was brought to town, something about Meryl's feelings for Vash. Was he right?

"Want a donut!?" he shouted absently, thrusting the box toward her nervously. If she was going to say what he thought she was, well…he didn't know how he should react. 

"Vash…this isn't a time to be asking me if I want a donut! I'm trying to say something really important but you always do this, you always act like an idiot every time!"

"Sca-ry," he muttered and put the box down. "I'm sorry…go on then."

Meryl crossed her arms. "Thank you. As I was saying…I…well I guess there's really no way of being discreet about it. Vash- you make people feel things they didn't know they could feel until they've been around you. You tend to bring out hidden emotions…feelings people never would have felt again if you hadn't been there."

He tensed. She _was_ saying what he thought she'd say. He didn't say a word but kept his aqua eyes on her, trying to figure out how to react to it. 

"Well you've brought out emotions in me that…well that I thought I'd never find again, Vash. You did it against my will, you idiot, and I should be mad at you, but I'm not!"

**_'You certainly look like you're getting upset over it,'_ Vash thought, his eyes widening at her raised voice.**

Meryl paced a bit then stopped. "I really care about you Vash. I…I really love you, even though I've got a strange way of showing it."

            "I'll say." He replied quickly but then caught himself. "Sorry! I'm sorry! Don't hurt me!"

            She hadn't moved. "Even now you're joking about it. Can't you give me an honest reaction for once?"

            He sighed and stepped forward, putting his hands on her shoulders. "I care about you too…I'd give my life to save yours, I've nearly done it plenty of times. But, Meryl, I don't feel the same. I love you as I would love a sister, a friend, a mother…please don't hurt me!"

            Meryl was silent. She hadn't expected him to swoon all over her like he would any other girl. She wasn't mad at him because he hadn't, either. In fact…she was relieved that she'd finally said it and knew how he felt too. 

            "Maybe…in time," he added with one of his more serious, non-empty smiles. He leaned down and kissed her cheek then stood straight, took his doughnuts and grinned. "Want one?!"

            *                                                          *                                                          *

            "Be careful not to cut off his ears, it'd be a shame," the blond woman leaning against the post said with a casual smirk. 

            Artemis grumbled, "I know what I'm doing Lily."

            "I hope so," Knives replied his head remarkably still. 

            "Just testing ya kiddo." 

            The red head could feel the smirk on her friend's face. She whipped around with the scissors pointed at Lily like a dagger. "Don't call me that! I HATE that!"

            Lily laughed, "Touchy, touchy, aren't we? You missed a spot."

            Immediately Knives drew a hand up to the back of his head. Artemis slapped it away. "Wait…don't listen to her. Shut up Lily." She said with a small smile and clipped a few places on Knives' pale blond hair. "There…done."

            She brought forth a mirror for him to see. He smiled instantly. His hair was clipped neatly, a little shorter than usual but not too much. It was basically the same way he'd always had it.

            "You left it the same. I thought you were going to change it." He remarked. 

            Artemis shook her head, "Yeah well…I just got used to you, so I figured, why change what I'm used to?"

            Lily laughed softly at them and turned her eyes toward the blue sky. The winds had shifted, it was a little chilly but otherwise the weather was perfect. But something felt…off-color. It was unsettling: a forbidding feeling despite the brightness of the day. 

            **_'Something is coming…' _** were the thoughts that she and Knives shared, albeit not known to the other that they thought in unison. **_'This can't be good.'_**


	24. Part Twenty Four

**Author's Note** Hey, did you notice? The story isn't over yet!! Actually, this coming chapter is the 2nd to last, meaning after 24, Part 25 will be the end of it. (Still… in my mind I'm hearing sequel…^_^).  There's things I've been trying to keep secret in the past chapters, and I hope, for the most part, that I've done a good job…because I'm betting the surprise coming up won't be one people expected. You can tell me if I'm right or not, afterward…but don't lie! Because I will know…my spies are everywhere…*grins*

Jess Perry- ^_^ you review after just about every chapter, you're so cool! As for the Vash and Meryl thing…it's just my own personal preference. I never really was fond of the pairing to begin with…something about Meryl really ticks me off, and I can't see them together like _that_. Even though it's really obvious that by the end, she really likes Vash, I don't know…for some reason, I don't think he would have seen her the same way. Sorry to disappoint, but I've got plans for Meryl, don't you worry. ^_^ although, it might be in a different fic.

Psycho King- Glad to know you're enjoying the fic so far! Everyone else so far has seemed to enjoy it, or else they're lying to me ;) 

Well now, after the disclaimers and the claimers, we can finally get on with the rest of the sto-

MISS AUTHOR LADY!! MISS AUTHOR LADY!!! 

Oh no…*claps a hand to her forehead* Yes Vash-kun? 

*He runs up at full speed, skids to a stop, and clings her leg* Don't do it!! Don't do it, please!!

Vash, what the heck are you talking about? *looks around nervously*

*shakes her hard* I heard the rumors! You can't, you just can't do it! It's so…so…INHUMANE!!

Oh, THAT! Well…you really weren't supposed to find out about it, I mean…nobody was supposed to know except for a few people and…they've accepted it…

*Vash* What?! How could they?! *looks horrified* My DONUTS are gonna get STOLEN and nobody CARES?! How AWFUL!

*blinks* Do…Donuts?! *laughs hysterically and pats Vash on the head* Oh Vash-kun, you're too cute. Your donuts are safe.

Promise?!

Yup.

SWEET! See ya Miss Author Lady! *runs off* Hey guys!! My donuts are safe!!

Oh boy… -.-;

Disclaimer: I don't own the title or Trigun characters, nor am I affiliated with the company in any way.

Claimers: The story idea for the fan fiction and all original characters (Artemis, Lily, Gemini, Tank, and Shaman) are all owned or co-owned by me. 

**~Under the Sky so Blue: Aftermath~**

****

**Part Twenty-four**

****

****

            "Mr. Knives, your hair looks really nice and neat, that hair cut really looks good," Milly chirped from across the dinner table. 

            Knives looked up from his plate, fork poised over his dinner, and smiled. It was strange to smile and have it not be for cruel intentions. Strange and…good. 

            "Thank you Milly." He finally replied and gestured toward Artemis at the conjoining table sitting across from Wolfwood and next to Lily. The restaurant was almost empty so they had nearly the whole thing to themselves. "Actually, you should compliment her, she did it."

            Vash glanced to the red head and then to his brother, smiling, his aqua-green eyes squinting a bit as he did. "She did a better job than you do on yourself, but that's because she could see the back of your head."

            "Smart-ass," Knives shot, but smiled in spite of himself. 

            Meryl prodded at her food with the tip of a spoon and sighed softly from her end of the table. She smiled too, though not because of the comments being made between everyone else. 

            "Meryl what's wrong, you've hardly touched your food." Milly asked, concern written over her kind face. She always had a way of knowing things, even when people thought she was being an airhead.

            The small insurance woman shook her head. "It's nothing, Milly, don't worry about it. I'm fine. My appetite just isn't really big tonight, that's all." She smiled to her partner genuinely to back her words. Luckily the big girl didn't press the matter and happily went on to chatter to her beloved Wolfwood three seats down.

            When Meryl lifted her blue-grey eyes, she saw Vash gazing at her with a half smile on his face. They didn't say anything, but the expression he had was a knowing one. He knew why she didn't feel hungry, and he also knew why she wasn't overly upset. The spiky blond winked at her quickly, causing a blush to creep over her cheeks, before looking away.

            …On the farther end of the tables, Lily and Artemis were on the brink of starting a food fight. 

            "I really _hate it when you call me kiddo!" the red head shouted placing a potato on the end of her spoon, and then flung it at her blond friend. _

            Lily dodged it easily and laughed, "Well hey, if you hadn't made that remark about _me being mistaken for the 60 billion double dollar man, then it wouldn't have slipped out!"_

            "It _so didn't slip out! You're just trying to make me mad!" her cheeks grew flustered._

            Snickering, Lily shook her head, ignoring Wolfwood's comment about just leaving it at that. She knew Artemis just as well as he did, if not better. Besides, she loved provoking the young woman; there was too much fun to be had. 

            "Well if it weren't for all those _cute little freckles I wouldn't have to call you kiddo, would I?"_

            "Ah…shut-up…or I'll steal your chocolate donuts." Artemis smirked.

            Wolfwood widened his eyes. "Girls, please! Can't a man of God eat in peace?!" How'd he get stuck three chairs away from Milly? Although…he wasn't _not_ having a good time. He stiffened when they both turned and gave him evil looks. "Hey, noise is good! God gave us voices, so let's all use them!" he laughed nervously as the girls snickered.

            *                                                          *                                                          *

            Outside of the town of Demetri, just over the rolling sand dunes which were pale against the growing dark, a troupe of four men plopped down behind the secrecy of the hill. One carried a saxophone, another carried a tank on his back and a gun in his hands, the third had a pouch full of dust, and the fourth…carried nothing but the clothes on his back. It had taken them nearly an entire week to finally reach the small town, and they were in fact surprised by what they saw.

            From the distance, Demetri wasn't a crowded place, but it was very well equipped. By equipped what is meant is there was not only a power plant nearby, but a water reservoir could be seen at the edge of the city. 

            "Look! There are flowers…" Midvalley nudged Gemini in the side, astonished. Even in the dark, the bright red buds of newly blooming flowers could be seen around the plant and around the water reserve. They'd really never seen them so closely before. 

            Gemini sighed and replied haughtily. "We did not come here to gawk at flowers- we have another plant specimen to retrieve. Do try to keep your mind on the subject at hand, Midvalley; you don't want what happened to you before to recur, now do you? Though this time, I doubt you'd be so lucky as to continue living."

            The pale and slender Gung-ho Gun, Tank, raised an eyebrow as the sax player suddenly turned white. "What the hell is he talking about?"

            The Shaman turned his glassy eyes to the sky. "The night is clear…secrets shall be uncovered."

            "Stop speaking in riddles, old man." Tank snapped and turned his blue-white eyes to Demetri. "When do we go in?"

            "We're going to sneak in at the back of the town…then go to the motel and find him there." Midvalley said.

            Gemini snorted and crossed his arms- the pale violet-white jacket he wore fluttered behind him, the singly visible silver-blue eye focusing on something in the city. "How childish- we have waited too long for him. We will just attack with force after we find him, it is quite simple. These people have no means of defense; their measly guns will be no match."

            *                                                          *                                                          *

            "Hey!" Artemis yelped as she was jerked back from the others as they walked from the restaurant towards the saloon for a night of rounds and cards and chess. She turned to give Knives an especially evil glare, which lasted no more than five seconds. "Something I can help you with?"

            The pale blond raised his ice blue eyes to the sky a moment then brought them to her, moving his hand from her elbow and took her hand. "Follow me."

            She blinked, "But we're going to the bar for drinks!"

            "We'll go in a few minutes, just…follow me." He insisted, tugging her along as he started walking the opposite direction.

            "Like I've got a choice," she muttered lightly but followed anyhow. "Where are we going?"

            Knives didn't answer until they stood in front of the plant, the giant glass bulb shone under the beginnings of silver moon rays. Underneath it was where they had all worked to till the land and make it inhabitable. There grew the red geraniums they had planted- one each for each person in Demetri.

            "Look at how fast they've grown," she murmured. "It's unbelievable."

            Crossing his arms, Knives nodded in agreement. "One of my kind dwells within this bulb above the flowers…a plant, like Vash and I. A sister of ours you could say. I believe it's the reason why the flowers have grown so quickly."

            "Really…one of your sisters lives inside of this thing?" Artemis walked up to the bulb and placed a hand on the glass. It was cool at first but soon became slightly warm. "It's hard to believe…"

            Knives came up beside her. "I know…it made me so angry that people would use us as power sources…I don't really understand it now, but it doesn't make me so upset anymore. However…one day we'll find a way for power that doesn't require the use of them, and they'll be free."

            "It'll happen. You'll find a way." The priestess glanced to him then drew her hand from the bulb, speaking directly to whoever was inside of it. "Thank you for making the flowers grow up so wonderfully…they're very beautiful."

            Knives looked at her as she spoke, his expression softening. It was easy to see how much he and Vash resembled each other when his face wasn't contorted to icy coldness or stoic nonchalant stares. 

            "Yes…they are." He agreed as Artemis turned toward him. He moved toward her and brushed the strands of red from her eyes as he'd done countless times in the past week or so and smiled. He thought he could hear music…so soft, as though the wind was singing.

            And everything went to Hell.

            The ground rumbled, hardly noticeable at first, and then it became a riveting tremor. Their eyes went wide as they looked up, first thinking the plant was reacting, but when the ground jutted up in the near distance it was apparent the plant was not the source. 

            "Run!" Knives shouted, grabbing Artemis' hand and pulled her toward the center of town where Meryl, Milly, Vash, Wolfwood, and Lily had already conjugated. 

            The townsfolk were frantically scrambling for their houses, some in a drunken stupor, others trying to usher their children inside in the midst of the pandemonium. The music that Knives had heard had not been a romantic whim riding the wind…it was a saxophone and the player could not be far away.

            The well cracked from behind, the effect of the rifts of intense music shaking the ground around the stone. 

            "What's going on?!" Meryl shouted, reaching into the white cape around her shoulders to pull out two derringers. 

            Milly had already drawn her giant stun gun and Wolfwood, having only a single revolver on him, tossed Artemis' quiver to her, speaking around a cigarette. 

            "I managed to grab it from your room, thought we might be needing your skills huh?"

            "How can you smoke at a time like this?!" Lily shouted and pointed ahead. "Look! There they are!"

            All eyes were on the four figures entering town, one of them wearing a black and pink button up shirt, skillfully playing the saxophone. Vash's eyes went wide. 

            "Midvalley!? Why the heck is that guy here?!" 

            Artemis felt her stomach sink as she prepped herself, sliding the quiver over her shoulders and knocking a bullet-tipped arrow to the steel bow. She should have seen this coming. All this time without so much as a word to the New Gung-ho Guns about her and Knives' whereabouts, things were bound to get ugly.

            "Shit…this is my fault." She muttered and steadied herself against the blow of a jutted up piece of land. 

            Knives narrowed his eyebrows and stepped forward, raising a hand until they all saw him and stopped. Midvalley lowered the sax and grinned.

            "We were beginning to wonder what happened to you, Master Knives."

            Gemini silenced Midvalley and took a step forward. "It is good to see you alive and well…but what are you doing beside these miscreants?"

            "Who the hell are you?" Knives demanded to know. He only knew of Midvalley, and he knew why the sax player was alive. These other three had to be the new recruits. 

            Suavely, the dark haired man smiled and bowed his head. "I am Gemini…Gemini Mimic. We are the New Gung-ho Guns that I am sure the Arrow Goddess has informed you about. Miss Artemis Fawn, what a pleasure to see you again, though I am afraid it is not on pleasant terms. Is there a reason that you have stayed here for so long?"

            The red head muttered under her breath. "What did I see in him?"

            Meryl overheard, "Well…he _is handsome…" She was grimacing inside, however. This next insurance report wasn't going to be a pretty one, she could feel it._

            "No reply?" Gemini queried, arching the fine brow over his silver- blue eye. "I see…Master Knives?"

            Knives really wished he had a weapon on him. He had no idea what happened to the guns that he'd made for Vash and himself…he imagined them to be in the desert somewhere, in the same place that Wolfwood's cross-punisher was. At least Vash wasn't defenseless.

            "Don't call me that. We're still here because I've chosen to stay here."

            The other looked surprised. Stay there? With the humans? Blasphemous!

            Shaman pointed a finger upward from under his poncho. "He no longer walks the path of darkness- he seeks a life of peaceful days, blue skies, and…love."

            Vash raised an eyebrow, "That old guy is really creepy, isn't he? How does he know so much? Hey, Gramps! Can you read my mind?!" He pushed out his left arm and it clicked, his hand moving out then down as a black machine gun rose up and locked in place. 

            Meryl and Milly looked at each other nervously. They knew what was coming next. 

            Gemini chuckled and closed his eyes. Instantly he became two, the copy standing beside the original, grinning malevolently at the others.

            "What a pity- in that case, if we're no longer under the orders of our former master…we shall take matters into our own hands. Destroy everything and leave none alive."

            Midvalley seemed apprehensive- Gemini was really giving him the creeps now- but he did as he was told. His lips touched the mouthpiece of the sax and the riveting notes played once more, the ground shaking uncontrollably. Tank leapt forward, turning on a switch connected to the side of his gun and turned the barrel upward, letting loose a jet stream of liquid fire to light up the sky. 

            "Whoo! This is gonna be fun!" he shouted and pumped the trigger once before aiming it at the others. "Regular or extra crispy? Forget it, I preferred burnt!" He cackled, shooting the flames just as they rolled out of the way. 

            Meryl shot her two derringers, aiming for Midvalley. She needed to disable him- somehow the music was connected to the earth tremors occurring around them. She missed by a long way. Knives snatched a derringer as the insurance woman's cape flew up, shouting to Artemis as he realized what Meryl was trying to do.

            "Aim at Midvalley! Distract him!" he shouted. 

            Artemis aimed and let loose an arrow which exploded a few feet from Midvalley. The sax faltered. It was all they needed. Knives rolled forward and shot the man's left hand. Midvalley let go of his sax holding his hand in surprise, but the instrument was still strapped over his shoulder. 

            "Shoot him! Vash! Shoot him!" Knives called to Vash who was desperately trying to figure out how to knock the fire gun off course.

            "I don't want to kill him!" Vash cried out, suddenly not knowing where to aim anymore. He hadn't fought anybody in over two months, now it was like World War three. 

            "Screw this!" Lily shouted, drawing a long blade from her back. It was silver with an inscribed lily on the blade and a revolver attached to the side. She raised the blade and pulled the trigger, hitting Midvalley in the shoulder. The sax player fell to the ground, groaning in pain.

            Milly and Wolfwood were trying to double team the pair of Gemini men, but to no avail. Somehow they dodged everything the two threw at them. 

            Knives groaned and narrowed his eyebrows at Tank, jerking his head to the side. Tank's fire gun flew from his hands, taking the slender young man with it rolling to the hard ground. The Shaman walked calmly in the midst of the battle and nobody seemed to notice him. Artemis drew two arrows and pulled back, aiming for Gemini, the one she had a feeling was the real one, and was about to release when something hit her in the eyes.

            "Damnit!" she shouted, dropping the bow to rub the dust from her eyes. It burned horribly and when she looked up everything was distorted. She couldn't see straight, couldn't make out who was who. "Knives, use the bow, I can't see anything!" she shouted to him, hoping he was still close enough to hear her.

            Vash turned around just in time to see Midvalley struggling to play the saxophone again. "Oh no you don't- sorry, but we just don't need background music right now. Thanks anyway, take five." He muttered as he shot the sax, destroying it better than he had the first time. Vash was almost confident now that the gun built into the instrument wouldn't even work. 

            Meryl lifted her last two derringers from her cape. Crap. This wasn't really getting them anywhere. That weird old guy had blinded Artemis, Milly, _and_ Wolfwood. She had to take him out before anymore damage was caused. 

            "Alright Derringer Meryl, let's see what you got," she whispered aloud and took aim then fired. Success! The Shaman was struck once in each leg, disabling his mobility.

            Lily slid up beside Meryl, "Wow, nice work."

            "Thanks." She replied and turned toward Gemini who had advanced upon them with the utmost calmness. "Is it me or is he…"

            "…Really creepy? Yeah, he is," Lily finished, twirling the blade in her hand and pointed it at him. "Alright you weirdo! Prepare to meet your doom! You've come across the wrong girl buddy- flowers might be pretty, but this one has thorns!" She cocked the hammer of the revolver attached to the blade and grinned. 

            Knives fumbled some with the bow but somehow got the gist of how to work the thing. It'd been a while since he'd handled something so primitive. He aimed at Gemini as well. It was obvious he was the mastermind here…though there was something strangely familiar about the serenity of this man. His eyes glanced down to see Tank stirring from the ground. Without a word, Knives shot the gun with an arrow and grimaced some when it exploded. That kid didn't have a chance in hell. 

            "Stop this before any more people get hurt!" Vash shouted, seeing his friends struggling to hold Gemini back but to no avail. 

            Both copies smiled nonchalantly and merged into one entity again. "Vash the Stampede…so we meet again. I thought you would be pleased to see all of your friends in one piece before your destruction, which is why I saved dear Nicholas D. Wolfwood for you. You repay me by demanding foolish things?"

            "Huh?" Vash narrowed his eyebrows. "I don't know…who…" he trailed off, confused. He'd never seen this guy before, but then…he felt like they had met before. And this talk about saving Wolfwood…it couldn't be.

            Gemini turned his gaze to Knives. "And you…it is difficult to believe the one who was once above me has sunk to the level of pathetic humans. Do you follow your brother now- the one you wished to kill so long ago? Have you vowed not to kill as well? Tell me- would you save my life in exchange for someone else's?"

            Knives narrowed his eyebrows as he saw Artemis walking haltingly toward Gemini, her eyes full of fear. She didn't know why she was walking; she had no control over what she was doing. Gemini took Artemis by the hand, spun her around and put an arm around her throat. 

            "Let her go!" Knives growled, taking a few strides forward, but stopped when the man squeezed the priestess' neck. "Bastard, you have no reason for this, let her go!"

            "Now, is that any way to treat an old alliance? Oh…I apologize- you're not used to seeing me like this. Let me show you…" Gemini grinned as his long dark hair shortened, becoming a deep blue color. His silver eye transformed, grew narrower and turned gold in color. However, the clothes stayed the same, as did the catty grin. "Recognize me now?"

            "Legato?" Knives and Vash murmured in unison. It couldn't be. Vash killed him, didn't he? Legato Bluesummers was dead! Unless…

            "I see you had another trick up your sleeve- that one really breaks the mold- sure has the revival trick seem like nothing." Wolfwood muttered, regaining his sight. 

            Could all of them go against Legato? With Vash and Knives' powers they could take him, yes, but not without risk of taking Artemis as well. Lily growled as Artemis was rendered powerless.

            "You asshole! Let her go or I'll kill you myself!"

            Legato strengthened his hold around the red head's neck smiling still. He cared not if he died this time for real- he'd only faked it the first time in the case that Knives won the battle and still wished him by his side. 

            "You kill me and you end her life." He replied as Artemis' eyes pleaded. She couldn't move against him, he wouldn't let her. "Though…I think I am going to take her life anyhow."

            "NO!" Knives, Vash, and Lily leapt forward as Legato placed his hands on either side of Artemis' head.

            Artemis widened her eyes as a tear fell down her right cheek, her gaze clearing at last to see everyone watching.

            …'_I can't die…he can't kill me, please don't let him kill me. Knives…do something…Vash, Lily, Milly, Meryl…Wolfwood. Help me, please help me…why can't I talk? Why can't I move? This is my fault…' _

Legato twisted his hands to the side, eyes on those advancing toward him, a cruel smirk on his lips…

            …_'I'm sorry for everything…Lily, I'm going to miss you. You were always there for me, I'm so glad I met you…you were like a friend, a sister, a mother to me. Make sure to tell Knives and Vash what you are…Wolfwood, oh my dear friend, don't forget me again…I'll kill you if you do. Knives…I couldn't have been forced to be stuck with anybody more miserable but how I love you…'_

"Legato stop!" Knives shouted in horror, his eyes meeting the absolutely horrified gaze of Artemis. Everything was happening so slowly…

            _…'Milly, you better take care of the preacher man. He really loves you, I hope you can see that…don't you ever change. Meryl- things will look up for you soon, I can feel it, just loosen up…and Vash…you've done what you set out to do. Take care of Knives, always, and he will always take care of you…good-bye my friends…'_

Legato let go of Artemis, watching her form slump lifelessly to the ground, neck broken. His eyes lifted to meet Knives just as the older twin let loose a series of arrows and spoke calmly before his world turned black.

            "And now you too shall know true pain and darkness."


	25. Part Twenty Five Epilogue

**Author's Note** Here it is- this will be the last chapter. I just want to say thanks for the reviews, especially to those who've stuck with me for the long haul. I hope I didn't disappoint too many people, and I've decided a sequel will follow though I'm unsure as to exactly when I'll start it. Also- I'm going to do a short, probably a one-shot, story on how Wolfwood and Artemis know each other, just to clear up some things. So…buckle up one last time, here goes nothing.

Jess Perry- Yeah, but you know, I did it for a reason…Knives might never have known true pain unless something like this happened, and I wasn't about to kill off Vash or Wolfwood or any of the other characters coz…well…it's just not right. And yeah, I have already drawn some pictures. This is the link- to my Side 7 gallery. Got a lot of Trigun fan art up there. 

Ultra Sonic 007- Yeah, that's about the gist of it. Were there fireworks? Nobody told me…damn.

Disclaimers: I do not own the characters or the Trigun title, nor do I own the original storyline and I'm not affiliated with them in any way.

Claimers: Characters such as Artemis, Lily, Tank, Gemini, and Shaman are all owned or co-owned by me. 

**~Under the Sky so Blue: Aftermath~**

****

**Part Twenty-Five: Epilogue**

****

****

****

            The sky was cloudy, it looked like a storm would be coming in, though nobody knew where it would be coming from, or why. It was rather out of the blue. But perhaps it wouldn't rain, because it just about never did rain, and when it did, it was such a welcomed surprise. Most of the people had recovered from the attack on their town, and thankfully nobody blamed Vash for it this time. In fact, they were relieved that Vash and his friends had successfully warded off the intruders and nobody had gotten hurt.

            Well…almost nobody. 

            Vash, though upset over having aided in murdering the enemy, for once wasn't twisting it into a personal failure of sorts. He accepted it- he knew that if it hadn't happened, the people of Demetri would have been in all sorts of trouble. The fatalities didn't stop there, unfortunately. They'd lost a comrade in the battle against Legato…Artemis couldn't do a thing against the twisted creature and sadly, neither could her friends. 

            Milly, while she hated to see people die, didn't dwell much over it either. She had to admit, while she and the others knew Artemis, none of them had really known her that well. She was just a likeable person, and it was horrible that she'd been killed…but as Wolfwood had told her, what's done is done, you can't change the past, no matter how much you want it.

            Lily was one who probably took it the hardest. Out of them all she had known Artemis for the longest time. The red headed priestess was a daughter, a sister, a friend to the blond bounty huntress, and they'd seen a lot of adventures together. Lily had kept quiet for the most part. The words that Artemis had said one day stuck with her, though…

            _'..He's the same…he's the same as you…'_

Lily shut her eyes then reopened them. Artemis was talking about Knives. They were the same? There was only one way that could be possible, because she was sure not the same as him personality wise, and that'd hardly be much of a disappointment to Lily. Artemis had to have been talking about the secret that only the priestess knew about her friend…about her longevity, her heritage. It made it all the harder to remain in Demetri with Vash and Knives. She had to think about this first before saying anything.

            Vash was leaning against the rail of the deck outside the motel when Lily emerged from the door, her bag strapped on and jacket adorned. She pushed up the frames of her blue sunglasses and looked at him through the lenses. 

            "You're leaving?" The blond man asked, wondering if this was similar to how he looked every time he packed up and hauled ass across the desert. It probably was. He could see why people mistook her for him. 

            Lily nodded. "Yeah- I can't stay here anymore; I have things to take care of."

            "Will we see you again?" he asked, simply curious. There was something…strange about her. He was intrigued.

            "Maybe…I can't promise anything, cutie, but we'll see." She offered a faint smile before stepping off the deck, not bothering to turn around or wave as she walked away.

            "What a weird girl," Vash murmured with a light grin. 

            "Vash- where is everyone?" Wolfwood called from a room's window, sticking his head out, hands on the sill. "Hey, is she leaving?"

            Turning his gaze to the priest, Vash nodded. "Yeah. I guess I don't blame her. As for everyone else…well Meryl's typing her disaster report, and Milly went to buy pudding."

            "More pudding?" Wolfwood asked, baffled. "I just bought a bunch two days ago."

            "I guess she's extra hungry then, because she said it was all gone. Don't tell me it really surprises you, preacher man." Vash smiled lightly.

            Shaking his head, Wolfwood chuckled. "I guess it doesn't."

            "How are you holding up?" Vash asked softly, putting his hands into his pockets.

            The chuckle faded and the priest paused thoughtfully. "I'll be alright. It'd been a long time since I'd seen her, but she hadn't changed much, you know? She was a good friend when I knew her, and a good person when we met again…it was just surprising when it happened, but God will grant her mercy." He nodded then asked, "Where's Knives?"

            Vash sighed, "I have a good idea of where he is…but I should leave him alone right now. Well, I'm going to get some donuts- want anything?"

            Wolfwood waved, "Nah, I'm fine. You go on."

            "The sky is overcast today, though I'm sure you know that already." Knives whispered, eyes turned upward as he stood in the small cemetery near the outskirts of town. He'd gone to Artemis' grave, standing at the edge of it, arms crossed, face expressionless. 

            Yesterday had been the first time he had cried in a very long while. He couldn't remember when the last time was, but it had to have been when he was but a child. 

            "It is not fair, do you know that? It isn't fair to you…and it isn't fair to me. How ironic, though, that your life be taken by someone I had once had control over? I created the Gung-ho Guns and when I turned my back on them, they destroyed one of the only people I felt compelled to care for."

            The wind blew softly bringing the scent of metallic water with it. Would it rain? Knives wished it would so that everything would be washed away.  Although, some things wouldn't wash away for a long time. 

            "I brought you something- I know you liked them." He knelt down, uncrossing his arms to reveal one of the red flowers that had grown near the plant. It's petals were vivid in color, the smell was sweet. "I don't know why, but this one called to me. It's yours, it had to be."

            Knives rose to his feet after a moment and he felt something stream down his cheeks. They weren't tears- this was a slightly cold touch. Looking skyward he saw a gentle rain begin to fall, the drops cooling his face, dripping over his skin and falling to the ground. His eyes shut as he stood near the grave, face skyward, hands limp at his side. It wasn't fair.

            _Vash walked toward the donut shop when he had first felt the rain falling. He glanced up in mild surprise and suddenly was obliged to change course. His long strides brought him to the tiny cemetery where he could see his brother standing, chin lifted to the refreshing rain. Vash smiled lightly though in partial sorrow for his twin. He could feel the very thoughts his brother was thinking. No…it wasn't fair at all. _

_            And yet…Vash was glad. His gaze lifted to the clouds and he whispered to the sky, to the song of life and death that the rain brought to their ears. She was singing to them, like she used to do, singing and smiling down upon them from the heavens. Vash knew why she sang and smiled…and it was not only because of him. Everyone had helped, everyone had a part in it, everyone played a role in making it happen._

_            "We all did it Rem, I didn't do it alone. But still, I'll continue…I'll always take care of Knives."_


End file.
